Pillar of Power
by tigerkat
Summary: Deadly dinosaurs, ancient magic, and a romance that transends time. The third story of the SKT series is finally here! The second half of ch.17 is up, please R & R
1. Prologue

Note from the Author: Hey everyone. This is next part of the SKT series, Pillar of power. Please enjoy and don't forget to R&R.

Swat Kat Trio: Pillar of Power

Prologue

It was a beautiful spring day in the ancient city of Bombay. The sun shined brightly over the city and its citizens as they celebrated. The reason for this merriment was because today was the Day of Ascension, the holy day when their god gilded the first king to the land of his future kingdom. Shops sold fresh festival treats and sweets to the masses of people. Music played in the town square as the citizens danced and mingled happily. In the center of the town square stood the Havanna Pillar, a white obelisk that represented the kingdom and its holy ties to the beyond.

As the townspeople celebrated, a grey kat raced through the crowds, searching for someone. He pushed through the toga-wearing citizens till he found who he was looking for. Before him stood a kat of grand stature and a heavy build. He wore golden armor with rubies beset around the collar and a large one on his chest. His fur was that of a lion, golden with a great mane. On his back was a large axe, strong enough to crack stone. The kat knew how important this person was, because he was king Falis Suleon Bombayose.

" My lord! My lord!" The grey kat shouted, pushing his way to the king, interrupting his talk. The great lion turned to this stranger and smiled.

" My boy, do not call me by such titles today." King Falis stated in his deep voice. " For today is a day of equality, as you know."

" Sorry my king." The grey kat replied. " But I come with the most urgent news." The king looked at the kat with curious eyes.

" What news? Has something happened?" The lion asked.

" My lord, it is the queen!" The grey kat answered. " She is giving birth!" Falis stepped back at this, then grabbed the grey kat by the wrist and ran, dragging the messenger across the ground as he pushed through the crowd.

" Where is it happening?" The lion asked, bearing his teeth.

" At the castle, in the throne room." The grey kat answered. " But, I fear she may not be there for long."

" What do you mean by that?"

" Well, I don't know how to say it." The grey kat answered, trying his best to run beside the great king. " The queen began to bleed as she started. The nurses are tending to her, but they told me to fetch you incase she doesn't survive." The great king roared at this and ran faster, finally making it to his castle. The king rushed through the courtyard garden into the palace and followed the red-carpeted path to the throne room. He bashed through the doors and stopped. In front of the thrones, lying on a mound of sheets and quilts was his wife. The queen was slender and beautiful, with a dark brown color fur and brilliant blue eyes. She was stripped of her royal robes during labor, so all she wore was a thin white gown that stretched to her waist. But at it's base and on the sheets was vats of blood. A crowd of nurses and nuns circled her, one departing from them and going to the king.

" My lord." She said, curtsying. " I have news both wonderful and grave."

" Speak, is she alright?" Falis responded. The nun looked to the ground, then back to the lion's eyes.

" She began so suddenly. She wanted to go to the festival and came here to find you when it started. We came here quick, made a place for her to lay, and followed the normal procedure." The nun explained. " But, she began to bleed so violently. We tried all the treatments we knew, but nothing stopped it. It was only after the birth that it stopped."

" The baby, what of it?"

" The child is a girl." The she-kat answered. " She made it through perfectly. But, I fear the queen will not sur…"

" WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!" the queen cried. Falis immediately left the nun and rushed to his wife. In her arms, wrapped in quilt, was their newborn. The kitten was a tiny thing, but the most beautiful creature the lion ever saw. Her fur was a tan-yellow with a patch of brown at the top of her head. The kitten looked at the great king to show her eyes were a bright emerald green, but with a thin white ring just above the pupil. The queen looked to her husband and smiled weakly, her chest filling with air slowly.

" My love. Isn't she.. The most wondrous…sight?" The queen asked.

" She is." Falis answered, crouching down beside his mate. " We must get you healed. You are …"

" What shall we name her?" The queen asked, interrupting the king. " We should name her well, for she is born on a holy day." The king thought for a moment, when it hit him.

" Her name should be that which marks this day." He said. " Her name should be.. Havanna."

" Ah yes. The name of the gift Haru Kantose gave our first king." The queen responded. " Havanna, such a beautiful name." The she-kat looked to her husband and smiled, feeling herself growing weaker and weaker by the second.

" My love, I will not last long. My time in this world has come to its end." She said in despair.

" No! I will not let you die." Falis replied, gripping the she-kat's hand gently. " You must live, so we may both see this child grow." The queen shook her head and took her hand away from his. The she-kat reached up to her neck and undid the clasp of her necklace, taking it off and handing it to Falis. The king looked down to the charm, examining the queen's most precious possession. The necklace was pure silver and had the form of a winged sun with a crescent moon within.

" When she…comes of age, please…give this to her." The queen stated, feeling her life slip away. The king nodded to his wife's request and gently took the child from her arms. The she kat closed her eyes and, with a slight smile, fell into her eternal rest.

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As she years passed, the infant had grown to a beautiful woman. She was slender and graceful, with long flowing hair that reached to her waist. She ruled with her father fairly, always believing that they should solve their problems peacefully and with mercy. The maiden had lived a good life, until she had reached her 25th birthday. Since that day, the king had been trying to get her to find a suitable husband. He would invite royalty from other kingdoms, so his daughter might find one she liked. But every time, she would gracefully resist the charms of her suitors'. This night was another one of those days. Havanna sat in front of the mirror in her room, brushing her hair while humming a soft tune, when a knock on the door interrupted her.

" My priestess, are you suitable?" a kindly voice asked from behind the door.

" Yes, please come in." Havanna answered. The door opened to reveal an old she-kat. She was dressed in nuns outfit and had chocolate brown fur. Havanna smiled when she saw the nun, for she was her oldest and dearest friend.

" Tonight is a special night, my priestess." The nun said, walking into the room.

" Chantilly, why must you tease me with that name?" Havanna asked with a playful tone.

" Why, you are known through out the kingdom by that name." Chantilly answered, walking up to the princess. " Even other kingdom's address you as such, and for good reason. Not only were you born on the most holy day and given a holy name, but your knowledge of the heavens rival that of the church." Havanna smirked at this. It was true that she knew much about the holy arts. She looked around her room, seeing bookcase after bookcase of sacred scriptures and writings.

" I suppose what they wish to call me is of little consequence." The princess replied. " As long as I can fulfill my duties and make this city happy, I care not what I'm called."

" Speaking of duties, my lady." Chantilly said. " The Royal family of the Lynx kingdom should be here very soon. It would be wise to hasten your preparation." Havanna turned back to the mirror at this, a saddened look on her eyes.

" I do not wish to go through with this." Havanna returned.

" But why?"

" Because, I do not wish to be married." The she-kat answered. " All the tomes I have read depict love as… as something wondrous. Yet, I have never felt that way about anyone in my life."

" Milady, you must put that aside." Chantilly said, placing her hand on Havanna's shoulder. " It is written that you must wed after your 25th birthday. You cannot go against this tradition. Now, I have something for you." The nun moved back into the hall, only to return with a beautiful gown. It was a pure white dress with large diamonds decorating the bottom.

" Please, put it on and hurry down." Chantilly pleaded, handing Havanna the dress and leaving the room. Havanna quickly put it on and looked at herself. _Though they make me look like I haven't a care in the world, it makes little difference with what I feel inside._ Havanna thought. She turned her head away from the mirror, deciding it was time she did something. The she-kat moved to her closet on the right wall and opened it. She rummaged through the dresses and gowns, finally finding the garb she was searching for. A large black cloak hung down from her arm. It was long sleeved and hooded, so as to hide her face and hands. The princess quickly put it on, seeing it covered her completely.

Havanna then moved to the window just right of her mirror and opened it. She looked down, seeing how long a fall it would be if she jumped from the third story. However, a vine covered terrance ended at her window, traveling all the way down to the courtyard. Havanna took a deep breath and climbed out, making sure she had a secure hold on the wooden wall. _Father, forgive me._ She thought as she carefully moved down the terrace, making sure not to fall as he made her way to the ground. She crept through the courtyard garden, making sure not be seen by any of the patrolling knights. She finally made it to the castle gates, running as fast as her feet could take her into the city. When she got a good distance away, Havanna finally slowed her speed and relaxed.

" I made it out." She said to herself, panting from her run. The cloaked she-kat slowly moved across the nighttime streets of her city. It was late, so most of the shops were closed and the people were asleep in their homes. _It has been quite sometime since I have been out of the castle._ Havanna thought as she quietly moved through the streets, looking up to the bright stars and brilliant full moon. _In fact, I don't think I have ever been outside the palace on my own._

As the she-kat moved to the end of the street, she saw that she had arrived in the town square. The rounded section of the city was always kept clean on houses, because of the Havanna pillar that stood before her. The white marble pillar glistened as the moon's light reflected on it, giving it a majestic glow. On the ground, underneath the obelisk, was the famous symbol of Bombay. A large winged sun with a crescent moon in the center, just like the necklace Havanna wore.

The princess moved into the square, entranced by the obelisk, when two voices stopped her. Next to the structure stood two kat's, deep in conversation. Havanna crept back along the outside of the square, hiding in a small alleyway nest to the conversing strangers. Keeping her breathing quiet and her body still, Havanna carefully listened to what they said.

" So, are we clear on the deal?" one of the kat's asked, a black robe hiding his form.

" Yes. I take the pillar, and you take the kingdom." The other kat answered. Havanna stared at the kat that just spoken, a glint of fear in her eyes. The figure looked like a kat well enough, but he seemed like he had ether been starved or had returned from the grave. The kat had orange fur that clung to his skeletal body. A purple robe covered his form, with four strings of spikes coming from all four diagonal directions and linking to a blue gem on his chest. His face was skeletal as well, with only one eye in his right socket. Finally, in his hands, was a golden pocket watch on a chain.

" But don't forget, you must also deal with my enemies, the SWAT Kats." The deformed kat stated.

" Of course, they will be taken care of." The other kat responded.

_SWAT Kats? _Havanna thought with curiosity.

" Good. This time, their time will end and I will plunge Megakat City back into the dark ages." The skeletal kat said with a cackle. He turned to the pillar and held his watch towards it. Purple electricity sparked to life around the watch, jumping and crackling as it collected. With a cry of insanity, the orange skeleton fired the energy over the pillar. It pierced the air and flattened into a purple vortex. Havanna covered her eyes from the flash, but watched what happened next in horror.

The vortex began to inhale, pulling all air and matter into it. The section of ground under the pillar began to crack and snap under the might of the vortex. Finally, with a forceful yank, the pillar was ripped from the ground and devoured. The vortex let out a flash of light that blinded the princess, forcing her to rub her eyes. When the spots went away, she looked to see nothing in the square. No kats, no portal, and no pillar.

Note from the Author: When I wrote this, I didn't actually know there was a city of Bombay. I actually found the name on a list of cat breeds and saw it sounded like Pompeii, the ancient Roman city. So, just to make sure there's no confusion.


	2. Chapter 1

Note from the Author: I am SOOO sorry for not updating in a while. Please forgive me.

Chapter 1  
A gray jeep sped out across the country, passing hills of green grass and flowers. The sky was a grand cerulean, decorated with fluffy white clouds while the sun shined warmly over the vehicle. As they continued down the road, their destination came into view. The runes of an ancient city were before them. The great buildings completely covered in ash and its once lively streets silenced.  
" Hey, we're almost there." The driver, a golden furred tom, announced to his two companions.  
" Great. It's a miracle they let us come here for excavation." A brown kat with a purple shirt and blue jeans stated from the back, leaning up from his slouched position. " How did you convince them to let us come anyways, Abi?" The she-kat in the front seat turned at the question.  
" It was actually very easy Randall. I just told them we wanted to put some of the artifacts from the ruins in our museum and they went for it." The brown she-kat answered. " It seems they're worried about the city's preservation. It's really understandable."  
" I suppose so." Randall replied. " I still cant believe we're gonna visit a city that's lasted 700 years without help."  
" Sorry to interrupt, but we're here." The driver announced. They had reached the security outpost that was stationed just before the ruins. The gate was normally closed off to everyone.  
" You have our clearance passes, right?" The tom asked.  
" Don't worry Benson, I have them right here." Abi answered, pulling three cards from the pocket of her green shorts. The jeep reached the gate and stopped as a security guard moved to the right window of the car. Abi rolled down the screen to greet the guard.  
" You have passes?" The guard asked with a stern voice, holding out a white paw.  
" Yes, here you are." The brown she-kat answered, putting the cards in the guard's hand. The white tom looked them over and handed them back to the doctor. The guard turned to the gate and raised his arm up, signaling the guard at the gate to open. The steel gates opened up and the jeep continued another mile, finally reaching their destination. Benson parked the jeep just outside the ancient city and all got out. Abi stretched her arms, a bit cramped from the long drive, and looked at the runes before her. The houses and streets were completely black, still covered with the ash that destroyed its inhabitants.

" Finally, I get to see one of the most famous kingdoms." The she-kat said in awe of the view. " The ancient holy kingdom, Bombay." Abi turned when she heard a clicking noise, seeing it was Randall taking pictures with his camera.  
" How long is it going to take for the others to get here?" Randall asked, taking his face away from his camera.  
" Well, they left today, so probably a day or so." Benson answered as he joined the two. " We are over-seas after all."  
" Well, while we're here, we might as well take a look around." Abi advised.  
" That sounds good. I can get some better pictures for Megakat geographic." Randall responded. Abi looked to Benson, just seeing him nod his head in agreement. Abi smiled and set off with the other two, walking down the streets of the ruined city. Many of the buildings had collapsed over the centuries, but a good some still remained in tacked.  
" So, what's the history on the place Abi?" Benson asked.  
" Well, this city was supposedly founded by a roman exile." The doctor explained.  
" An exile?" Randall questioned. " How could he have created a kingdom?"  
" It was a long process. Supposedly, a god called Haru Kantose had lead him here." Abi continued. " This land was very rich from farming, because of the nearby rivers and the rich soil. The volcano nearby also supplied natural hot springs. This attracted many people. Eventually, they created the kingdom and made its founder their ruler."  
" I guess good things do come after the bad." Randall responded. " How did it end up like this?"  
" The volcano was the problem. It erupted 700 years ago and covered the entire place in ash. The eruption was very sudden, so not many people were able to get out. The ash and poisonous gasses killed off a great majority of the citizens and eventually became uninhabitable. People eventually forgot about it and moved on." Abi explained. " It has only been rediscovered in the last 20 years, but no excavations have been done because the neighboring towns believe it would have been destroyed."  
" It makes sense to want to protect the past." Benson commented, looking in one of the preserved houses. The whole place was black from the ash, but was easily seen as a home. Large pots amassed in the corner of the room, probably to keep water in. There was an old fireplace in the north wall and a bed of petrified straw in the right corner by it. One the straw was the ash-covered bones of the owner, frozen and preserved seven centuries. Abi continued to move along the streets, reaching what was the town square. Destroyed shops circled what was once to most busy part of the city. In the center, still seeable through the ash, was the royal symbol of the city. The winged sun that the people once recognized had lost its shine, and had turned dark from the flow of time.

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-Two months later.

" Come on kid, try it again." Jake said with an encouraging voice.  
" I cant do it Jake." Tai replied. " I tried it ten times already and I fell each one. I even knocked you over three times."  
" Well, your getting use to it." Jake encouraged again. " It took me and Chance a while to get it, and he still cant do it right. I don't care if you knock me over, just get back up." Tai looked at the brown kat and nodded. the two got into position and ran across the soft mats of the karate room. Before them were two wooden pegs that stuck from the ground. Jake and Tai focused the energy and jumped towards the pegs, flipping in the air as they traveled. with the skill of an acrobat, the two landed to the pegs with their hands, balancing perfectly.  
" See, you got that part down." Jake complemented. " Now you just have to get this part."  
" If you say so." Tai replied. " I just really cant get use to the blood going to my head."  
Jake grinned as Tai and continued. the two pushed themselves up strait on the mounts, their feet high in the air. then, shifting their center of gravity, pulled one hand out of the position. This forced them to balance on only one hand, requiring great concentration and balance.  
Don't mess up, don't mess up, don't mess up! Tai thought to himself. Gravity then began to work, forcing the kat to start wobbling.  
" Tai, just clam down and..." Jake began when the red kat fell to his left, knocking Jake down as he fell. The two kats hit the matt and rolled, their practice a failure.

" Oww!." Tai whispered in pain as he laid on the ground. Jake moaned as he stood up, brushed some dirt from his martial arts uniform, and held his hand out to the red kat.  
" You couldn't keep calm." The brown kat stated as he helped Tai up.  
" I'm sorry." Tai apologies. " I really wanna get it. I guess I just have to work harder." Jake smiled at the new kat.  
" That's good. if you want something, you gotta work for it." Jake announced. " in fact, you've gotten a lot stronger."  
" I have?" Tai questioned, a curious look on his face.  
" Yeah." Jake answered with a nod. " You were able to hand stand first of all, and your able to break bricks like Chance and I."  
" I can only get up to two though. You guys are still way ahead of me." Tai stated.  
" Chance and I have been at this for years kid." Jake replied. " Don't compare yourself to us, or you'll never see your improvement." Tai smiled at the brown kat.  
" Thanks Jake." He said.  
" No problem buddy." Jake replied. A evil grin lined the kat's face as he cracked his knuckles. With a burst of wind, Jake swung his hand in a horizontal chop. Tai jumped back, barely able to react.  
" What was that for!" Tai asked in surprise.  
" You knocked me down, so it's time I get even." Jake answered with a chuckle as he got into stance. Tai looked at the brown kat with a questioning look, but smiled as he got into stance as well. The two stared each other down, neither flinching or blinking. Then, with great speed, the two charged at each other. Tai went for the first attack, shooting his foot out as a sidekick, but Jake easily caught it. With an evil smile, Jake swung the red kat, slamming him against the wall and letting go. Tai fell to the ground and looked back to Jake with a look of fury.

" Come on. You can do better than that." Jake teased. Tai smirked as he stood up, getting back into stance and waiting for Jake to make a move. He didn't have to wait long when Jake rushed forward, throwing a punch aimed for the red kat's chest. Tai easily blocked it with his left and shot with his right, hitting Jake of the right pectoral. Jake turned for a spin kick, catching Tai off guard and smashing him in the ribs. Tai clenched the area as he jumped back to get some distance.  
" Your improving, so act like it." Jake demanded. Tai glared as he shoot for Jake again, a plan forming in his head this time. The red kat threw faked a punch to Jake's face, forcing him to bring his arms up in a guard. Then, while this distracted him, Tai side kicked, hitting Jake in the gut and sending him down. Jake landed on his tail and looked up at Tai with a smile.  
" Now that's the kid I know!" He said in triumph as he got up and charged again. The two kept battling, making a storm of punches and kicks. However, unbeknownst by the two, another figure entered the training room quietly. He knew the two were completely focused in their battle, too focused to notice him. The kat waited like a predator waiting for his prey. Tai swung for a kick as Jake went for a punch. Jake, seeing the kick, grabbed Tai's leg as Tai caught Jake's fist. The two were locked, unable to attack each other.  
"See.. What'd I tell you?" Jake said as he panted. " You are improving, so stop worrying."  
" I guess… your right." Tai replied as he panted as well. " I want to be as strong as you guys. So I'm going to work hard at it, and not give up." Jake looked at Tai and smiled, letting go of Tai's leg in the process.  
" That's what I like to hear." Jake said, beaming at the red kat. Tai let go of Jake's fist and beamed as well.  
" We should probably get changed out." Jake suggested. " chance has been working all morning by himself so we could train."  
" Yeah, sounds good." Tai replied. Seeing the opening, the hidden kat jumped out and caught the two by surprise. The big kat tackled the two to the ground under his weight and put their necks in his underarms, placing them in a head lock.  
" Kats Alive!" Jake shouted. He looked up and saw the assailant was none other than Chance. The burly kat was dressed in his blue overalls with his red cap on his head.  
" you guys left me all the work today. So I should get little payback, don't ya think?" Chance mocked with a grin. Tai and Jake struggled to break free, but it was hopeless. The two kats looked at each other, then back at Chance with a sinister grin. Using their combined strength, The two kats grabbed Chance's arms and, with a good amount of force, pulled themselves free and slammed the big kat to the ground.  
" Revenge isn't a good thing Chance." Tai mocked as the tiger laid on the ground, dazed from the move.  
" especially when your going after two martial artists." Jake continued. The two laughed together as Chance got up and rubbed the arm he was thrown on.  
" Aw Shaddup and help me up there." Chance snapped, making the two stop. " You guys need to pull some weight around here too, you know."  
" Yeah, your right." Jake replied, agreeing with the tiger.  
" We'll be up with a minute and you can get a break." Tai finished.  
" Roger." Chance replied as he smoothly strolled out of the room.

Jake and Tai immediately changed out of their uniforms and into their work clothes. The two climbed the latter leading up into the house, talking along the way.  
" There really hasn't been any missions lately." Tai announced as he climbed after Jake.  
" Well, don't get comfortable." Jake replied. " These long silences usually mean something big is coming."  
" Really?" Tai questioned.  
"No. but lets hope I'm wrong." Jake replied as he entered the house. The brown kat reached down, grabbed Tai's hand, and hoisted him into the house.  
" Do you ever wonder what would happen if there were no more missions?" Tai asked as they headed for the garage. Jake stopped and looked back at the red kat.  
" Not really." He answered. " But if they do stop, I guess it means we can concentrate on getting out of this place."  
" Well, I mean after that." Tai responded. " I mean, what would you do after you got out of here?" Jake put his paw to his chin, a sign of deep thought. The brown kat never really thought about life after the Salvage Yard and the SWAT Kats. He had a vague idea of what he would do, but he was often forced to dismiss it for more important reasons.  
" I guess, I would find a nice girl and settle down." Jake answered again. " I want to have a family, and a peaceful life. But I still want to be a SWAT Kat too."  
" I understand." Tai replied. " Being a SWAT Kat is a great honor. We help people who cant help themselves, just out of the goodness of our hearts too."  
" That's a good way of putting it." Jake said. " What would you do after all this?"  
" That wont happen for me." Tai answered. " I'm gonna be here all my life because of the damage I did."  
" I doubt that." Jake commented, shaking his head. " Chance and I'll help you get out of here like your helping us."  
" Sure, it's a deal." Tai replied with a smile.  
" HEY! Are you guys coming or what!" Chance's voice boomed from the garage, alerting the two kats and making them hasten their travel.

The kats entered the Garage to see the impatient Chance Furlong.  
" Sorry about making you do all the work, buddy." Jake said as Chance came out from under the car, his paws holding a greasy wrench. The big kat tossed the tool to them as he got up, Jake skillfully catching it.  
" it's ok." Chance replied as he strolled to them. " Did you get anything done?"  
" No, I fell again." Tai answered, feeling a bit depressed.  
" Hey, don't worry about it kid." Chance said, trying to encourage the red kat. " I still have trouble balancing on one hand, cant get use to the blood rushing to my head."  
" Well, enjoy your break." Jake called as he and Tai walked over to the car to get started.  
" Oh, I will." Chance shouted back as he walked away into the living room. " They have an hour long Scaredy kat showing right now." Tai's ears shoot up at this and a sad look covered his mug. Chance waited patiently with his paw to his ear when he hear the moan of the red kat from the Garage. Chance chuckled to himself as he flipped on the tube to his favorite cartoon.  
" This is so unfair." Tai drowned as he opened the hood of the car, seeing some acid had formed on the battery.  
" I don't see what you guys like about cartoons." Jake commented as he went under the car. " I mean, they're good for kids. I guess I just have more refined tastes."  
" Right, Litterbin is a comedic genius." Tai replied with obvious sarcasm.  
" Hey, you'd like it if you tried it." The brown kat said from under the car.  
" Ok, I'll try it, but you have to get off my back about it if I don't like it." Tai conceded.  
" Alright then." Jake said, finishing the argument. The two heard Chance burst with laughter from the other room. The big kat was desperately trying to keep the air in his lounges as Scaredy kat skydived from a plane, only to find an anvil in his parachute pack. Chance continued his laughter, until he heard the sound of gravel under a tire. The tiger stood up and walked to the door, seeing a familiar green sedan pulling up to the garage.  
Oh, Callie's here. Chance thought as he stood up and turned off the TV. the kat removed his hat and licked his paw, smoothing out his hair in his usual charmer fashion.

Jake and Tai's attention was taken away from their work when they saw the green sedan roll into the front of the garage. The door opened and Callie stepped out, dressed in her usual magenta business suit. The she-kat strolled into the workshop to meet the two kats.

" Hey Jake, hello Tai." She greeted in her friendly tone.

" Hey Callie, good to see you." Jake replied, coming out from under the car. Tai's shyness took over, forcing him to wave in response.

" Yeah, it's been awhile." Callie stated. "I haven't had that much trouble with it since things have been calm now-a-days."

" Yeah, no city wide panic, just what this town needed." Jake responded. Callie nodded and looked around the shop, noticing one was missing.

" What's Chance up to?" She asked.

" He's taking a…" Jake started when Chance entered the shop.

" I'm right here." The tiger said as he walked up to the she-kat. " How've you been?"

" Busy as usual." Callie answered. " The mayor is having me supervise everything for the new Bombay exhibit over at the museum."

" BOMBAY EXHIBIT!" Tai shouted in surprise, catching everyone's attention. The red kat immediately clamped his paws over his mouth and looked away. Callie turned back to Chance and continued.

" Abi got a lot of artifacts from the dig." Callie reported. " Apparently, the city was in pretty good condition because the neighboring towns protected it from grave robbers and everyone else. The exhibit is going to open tomorrow."

" That's great." Jake commented. " It should really help the museum get some money."

" Yeah, it should." Callie replied. " You guys should come."

" Thanks, but don't really care stuff like that." Chance stated. " I'd rather see some of the Mega War 2 models they have."

" Well, Abi also found a skeleton of one of people who were caught in the volcano blast." Callie reported, catching Chance's attention.

" Well, I guess that wouldn't be so bad." The big kat replied. " Sure, we'll all go."

" Great. The opening is at five." Callie stated.

" Ok. Is that why you drove all the way out here?" Jake asked, reminding the she-kat of the real reason she came.

" Oh yeah, I forgot. My battery is getting low, so I need to get it charged." Callie answered.

" Sure Miss Briggs, we'll charge it up for you." Chance said as he walked over to the tool table and took out some jumper cables. The big kat attached them to a tickle charger and began the process. After a while, the battery was completely charged.

" Thanks Chance, just put it on my tab." Callie thanked.

" no problem. You need some gas for the trip back?" Chance asked.

" No, I'm fine." Callie answered as she began walking out of the to her car.

" See you later guys." She said as slid into her car. The she-kat closed her door and started the engine, but poked her head out of the window for a final word.

" Bye Jake." Callie finished with a sweet voice before she rolled the window up and drove off. Chance looked to Jake to see he had a bit of a confused look on his face.

" She does that every time she's here." Tai commented, his shyness gone. " I think she likes you."

" Really? I don't think so." Jake replied. " She's probably just being friendly."

" Well anyways, I still have some time on my break." Chance stated as he walked away, going back to the living room. " If we can get some work done, we can go flying."

" Rodger." Jake and Tai replied as the tiger disappeared


	3. Chapter 2

Note form the Author: Sorry it took so long. time for chapter 2! 

Chapter 2

Calico Briggs drove down the street towards Megakat city. Since her battery was freshly recharged, she had one less thing on her plate. The she-kat sighed as she drove though, feeling uncertainty swell within her. Keeping her eyes on the road, the deputy mayor reached over to the glove compartment on her left and opened it. Her paw rummaged through the usual junk she had in there, brushing up against napkins, a flash light, some CD cases, and the car charger for her cell phone.

" Aha!" Callie said in triumph when she found what she was looking for. Pulling her hand back and closing the compartment, the she-kat glanced at a small picture. In the photo were the images of her two mechanics, before the third one had come along. Jake and Chance were in their usual blue overalls and red baseball caps. Chance's face was in a big smile, showing off his sharp white teeth while he gave a thumbs up to the camera. Jake, on the other hand, only gave a slight smile. She knew the tom was shy, but it would have been nice had he opened up that one moment.

" Oh Jake." Callie said to herself as her eyes darted back and forth from the road to the photo. " What am I going to do about you?" Callie put picture over on the front passenger seat, right next to two tickets for a nine o'clock showing of Hard Shell: The Mutation. She had done her best to prepare to ask him, telling herself that today would be the day and rehearsing in front of her bathroom mirror. Callie had, for a long time, felt feelings for the brown kat. And yet, at the same time, felt feelings for another. That tall, mysterious SWAT Kat, Razor. When she was around ether one of them, she felt so happy. It was as if a great weight had been taken off of her shoulders, letting her feel as light as air. Callie began to blush from the thoughts she had. A ring from her cell phone broke the spell, pulling her back into reality. Callie reached to the backseat and pulled her cell phone out of the handbag she normally carried.

" Hello." She said into it.

" Hello Callie." Mayor Manx's accented voice spoke back. " I need you to go to Megakat Museum later today to make sure everything is ready for the opening tomorrow."

" But Mayor Manx, I have…" She stopped, remembering she still had the tickets.

" Yes?" Manx questioned.

" Nothing." Callie answered with a sad tone. " I'll take care of it sir."

" Thank you Callie." Manx replied. " This exhibit is going to make the museum a lot of money and get me a lot of votes from the speech I'm going to give. Make sure everything is perfect."

" Alright mayor. Bye." Callie responded as she turned off her phone. She sighed to herself and turned into the freeway, moving to her office to get some paper work done.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Jake and Tai continued their work on the car as Chance took his break.

" What was with the outburst?" Jake asked from under the car.

" Outburst?" Tai questioned from under the hood as he carefully placed a solution on the acid to get rid of it.

" You know," Jake answered. " When Callie told us about the exhibit, you shouted. Normally, your as quiet as a mouse around her."

" Oh, that." Tai responded. " Well, when I worked in the Enforcers, most of my research was centered around Bombay and other Roman cities. But because there were no digs allowed, I couldn't get much from that city."

" Huh." Jake said. " Where's your research now?"

" Still at the headquarters. They said they might need and they took it." Tai answered

" Yeah, they tend to do that a lot." Jake stated as they continued. The kats looked when they heard footsteps, seeing Chance enter the garage.

" Well, break's over." He announced. " Time to get some work done and get in the air."

" Practice?" Tai questioned, getting a nod from the tiger.

" Yep. I want to try and work out the bugs on the lasers we installed." Chance explained. " Plus, we gotta test to make sure everything's functional."

" You just want to fly cause there's been no trouble in a while." Jake revealed. Chance looked down at the kat and nodded with a big smile.

" Yep, saw right through me like usual buddy." Chance said. The kat pulled a wrench out of his pocket and spun it in the air, catching it skillfully. " So lets get this over with."

" Yes sir!" Jake and Tai replied with a salute. They went back to work as Chance glared at them.

"Smart alecks." Chance grumbled as he joined the two. The three worked hard to fix the vehicles. Chance replaced tires, Jake wielded some of the tears in the frame, and Tai worked on repairing the engine. With all three of them working together, it only took a few hours for the work to get done.

" Phew, that was long." Jake said as he walked from the garage to the kitchen and pulled three canned milks from the fridge.

" Well, at least we're done now." Tai replied when Jake returned and handed them their drinks.

" So, you guys ready for some practice?" Chances asked as he cracked open his milk.

" When are we not?" Tai asked back.

" On the job, 24/7. That's the life of a SWAT Kat." Jake stated.

" No truer words." Chance replied as he raised his can. " To being the SWAT Kats, and protecting Megakat City."

" To us." Tai and Jake said at once as they raised their drinks as well. They banged the cans together and chugged the creamy liquid down. They smiled widely at each other and started for the hangar, ready to begin their flying. Chance, Jake, and Tai changed into T-bone, Razor, and Blaze.

" So, where are we going?" Blaze asked.

" Megakat canyon." T-bone answered. " We're going to do a basic flight course with real targets."

" The laser system we just installed needs to be tested. Plus, we haven't gone flying in a while and it would be dangerous if we get rusty." Razor explained.

" Alright, if you say so." Blaze replied. T-bone and Razor jumped into the cockpit while Blaze went into the bomb bay storage area. The place had been modified for the red kat. It now had a seat in it with controls for the Megalaser at the tip of the jet and four laser cannons on the wings. A screen and a mini camera were on the controls as well, so he could communicate with his teammates. Blaze secured himself in his seat as T-bone and Razor did the same in the cockpit. The platform that held the Turbokat sank down into the ground to the runway. Razor hit a button on his controls to open the exit as T-bone slammed on the thrusters. The black, blue, and red jet blasted out of the hangar with a roar that obliterated all silence. T-bone piloted the aircraft over the city, making sure not to get too close to any of the buildings. On the streets, adult kats pointed to the Turbokat and young kittens waved as it flew by. Even Callie, who was working on some fund request forms at the time, glanced out her window and watched the Turbokat sail quickly through the sky. T-bone reached over on his controls and pressed a small red button on them. Instantly, a small square screen appeared with a camera lens above it. A red light glowed beside the lens, signaling that the transmission was on. At the same time, the screen on Blaze's controls turned on and showed the masked tabby.

" How's the ride?" T-bone asked with a grin.

" As good as it could be with your flying." Blaze joked.

" At least your not being flung around like a rag doll in there anymore, so be grateful." T-bone replied with a stern voice.

" I am hotshot. It's great that I'll be able to help you guys in a dogfight instead of just hanging around for the ride." Blaze said, holding his hands up defensively. The screen then minimized T-bone's picture so it was only on half of the screen, then blank half flashed and showed Razor.

" Just done shoot down my missiles kid." Razor stated.

" Rodger." Blaze replied. T-bone looked from the screen over to where landscape and found they had reached the canyon. The great landscape was created over thousands of years by the river that eroded the ground as it traveled across it. The great gorge was the perfect place to practice T-bone's flying, because of the sharp turns and narrow passages. Razor had also place robotic launchers that would shoot real ammunition at them, so to give it a realistic feel.

" We're here guys. Time to get serious." T-bone announced.

" Rodger. Lets get this done so I don't miss the Litterbin show." Razor responded.

" Ready when you are." Blaze replied.

" Alright. Here we go." T-bone said as he flew into the canyon. The Turbokat fit neatly in the rocky cliffs, having plenty of room to move around. T-bone's darted around under his mask, looking over every piece of the surroundings as he flew. The tabby pulled hard on the controls, making a sharp left into another passage. Thick stone beams crisscrossed in this passage, making it difficult and hard to maneuver in.

" Nothing like a challenge." T-bone stated in a cocky tone. He increased his speed and charged at the columns of rock. The first one was connected to both walls perfectly horizontal, making it easy to avoid. T-bone pulled up and passed over the obstacle, heading for the others. This time, three stone pillars crossed each other, two diagonal and one horizontal. T-bone lowered the jet's altitude and passed bellow them.

" Alright guys, this is where it get fun." T-bone announced with enthusiasm. As they passed through more columns of rock, the launchers appeared. They were attached to both sides of canyon and were motion sensitive. As The Turbokat got close, the machines came to life and fired a volley of missiles at the jet.

" You first Sureshot." T-bone called.

" Right." Razor replied as he observed his screen, calculating where the projectiles would move and their speed. The masked brown kat locked onto them and hit the button for the Matchhead missiles.

" Matchhead missiles, Deploy!" Razor shouted as two of the missiles flew out of the Turbokat. As the matchheads got close, the tops broke apart and revealed what actually looked like the tips of a match. The heads ignited and burned with a red flame as they plowed into the oncoming missiles, destroying them in a fiery blaze.

" Perfect aim as always." Razor stated in triumph.

" Yeah, well don't let your guard down." T-bone replied. The Turbokat passed the launchers, but were followed when the machines launched another group of missiles.

" Your up kid." Razor said. Blaze rolled his eyes at his nickname; knowing it was useless to argue. The red kat pressed a button on his screen, switching it to targeting mode. When the switch occurred, four laser cannon lifted out of the wings of the jet, two on each wing with one being on both sides. Blaze turned the cannons so they would face behind the jet and carefully locked onto the incoming missiles.

" Laser fire!" Blaze shouted as he blaster a beam from each barrel. The white-hot energy flew through the air and sliced through the projectiles with their heat, destroying each one.

" Alright!" T-bone shouted. Razor was about to complement Blaze, but he saw one of the missiles had escaped the attack and was still heading for them. He quickly targeted it on his screen and launched a Shark missile at it. The missile flew to the attacking one and the top broke off to show two sets of razor-sharp jaws. The Shark missile got in range of the other and chomped down on it, causing both of them to explode. Blaze's screen switched back to its communication setting and showed Razor giving him a 'what have we learned' look.

" I guess I need to work on my aim." Blaze said, feeling embarrassed.

" Right. Three rounds in the shooting gallery tomorrow, after we visit the museum." T-bone announced. The masked tabby pulled the jet up from the canyon and onto the surface to see they were now in the combination section. Spires of rock jutted from the earth, making it good for quick maneuvering. Launchers had also been placed around here for more shooting.

" Time for the big one." T-bone said as he flew through. The big kat piloted the jet through the spires as Razor and Blaze held off missile attacks.

"Piranha missiles deploy!" Razor called as he fired multiple missiles that were like the shark missile, but smaller. The piranhas bit the oncoming missiles and blew them apart.

" Incoming at three o'clock." T-bone reported.

" I'm on it!" Blaze replied as he aimed his lasers at the three missiles heading at them and blasted them out of the sky. T-bone passed under an arc of rock, hitting a sensor that stopped the launchers firing.

" Alright. Great job." T-bone said. " Time to go home."

" Yeah." Blaze said as he looked at the time. " Scardey kat is going to be on soon and I don't wanna miss it."

" Remember kid, you said you'd watch Litterbin too." Razor reminded with a mocking tone.

" Well. I.. uh.." Blaze stammered. " I have some reading to do and.."

" You promised something like that?" T-bone questioned in surprise. " Sorry little guy, but you gotta keep your word, even if we have to tie you up to do it."

Blaze looked at the two grin at him and moaned.

" What have I gotten myself into?" The red kat cried.


	4. Chapter 3

Note from the author: Sorry for the wait. I have all core classes at school and barely had tome to work on it. But I will try to do better. Thank you loyal readers and enjoy chapter 3.

Chapter 3

When the three got home, it was nearing seven o' clock.

" Oh well, gotta make dinner. No time for…" Tai said as he started for the kitchen, only to have Chance's mighty paw grab his wrist and led him to the living room.

" You're not getting out of this one kid." Chance responded with a sadistic grin. He tossed Tai to the couch and flicked on the TV as Jake came in with a bowl of popcorn.

" Oh come on guys." Tai moaned as the theme music for David Litterbin show.

" Keep your words." Jake lectured as he sat down beside the red kat. " Hey, could you order some pizza for us big buddy!"

" Sure. One large tuna and pepperoni, coming up!" Chance hollered as he walked into the kitchen to use the phone.

" Don't worry kid, this show is better than you think." Jake reassured as David Litterbin came onstage.

" I'll believe it when I see it." Tai replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Calico Briggs yawned as she drove her green sedan to the museum. After waking up early to go to the Salvage Yard and catch a meeting at Puma-Dyne, the deputy mayor was anxious to get to bed and get good nights sleep. She had thrown away the tickets, seeing how her attempt to get a date had failed.

_What am I going to do?_ She asked herself mentally. _I can stand in front of a huge crowd and make a speeches, I've survived more near death experiences than I can count, and I still choke every time I try to ask him out!_ She gripped the steering wheel hard, being angry at the thoughts flowing through her head.

_All right! I'm going to get this done, go home, get tickets on Fandango, and ask him tomorrow!_

The museum came into sight. It was a tall red building decorated with windows and lush green grass in the front. Callie parked her car in the parking lot, turned off the engine, and stepped out towards the building. The doors had been locked and the lights were off, but she saw an orange furred security guard moving towards the doors. He opened the front and welcomed her in.

" Good evening Miss Briggs." The guard greeted. " Here for the exhibit?"

" Yes. The mayor wants everything to be perfect for tomorrow" Callie responded.

" Well, Abby's in the back, working on some research before the big day." The guard replied. " If you will follow me please." Callie nodded to the guard and he started down into the darkness. Callie followed the guard through the dark exhibits. The guild had used his code to disable the security system, saying it was the fastest was instead of turning off every passage manually. To the deputy mayor, it seemed as if the whole place had transformed. The suit of armor in the medieval exhibit looked as if they would grab her if she came close and the mummies in the glass cases seemed to have had new life breathed into them.

" So, big day tomorrow." The guard said, breaking the silence.

" Yeah. It's going to be something else." Callie replied. The guard led her to the back of the Egypt exhibit, where there was a grey door with a black sign beside it saying " Research Department".

" Here we are." The guard said as he opened it and ushered Callie in. " She should be in the second door to the right."

" Thank you." Callie replied as the guard closed the door silently. The deputy mayor walked down the hall, found the door, and opened it to find Dr. Abby Sinian. The brown she-kat stood up and greeted Callie as she stepped in.

" Hello Calico." Abby greeted.

" Callie please." The deputy mayor corrected. The room was quite small, only having a desk with a reading lamp and a small counter where a brewer was spilling fresh coffee into a glass pitcher. On the desk was an old book that looked ancient and papers all over the top.

" Deciphering?" Callie questioned.

" Yes. It was actually a good thing you showed up now." Abby answered as she sat at the desk. She rummaged through the papers and found one with neat, clear writing.

" This book is actually the journal of the first king of Bombay, King Antonius Decimus Bombayose." Abby stated.

" Really. That must be…" Callie began.

" Hundreds of years old." Abby finished. " The passages are very strange. One of them seems to be a warning."

" A warning?" Callie questioned. Abby turned to the page and began reading off of it.

"_My children do not fear for your safety,". The great light said to me. " I have come bearing a gift, a monument that will be my mark upon this world. Should you ever have need to battle, this mark shall ensure your victory." I stood in silence as the field before was struck with such a blast, the ground shook and the wind screamed. The light made me cover my eyes, but I then saw the monument my lord was referring to. It was a marvelous stone pillar, as white and pure as the doves of spring. Looking upon it, I felt the furies within my soul burn and vanish into dust._

" What is he seeing?" Callie asked, stopping Abby.

" Well, the record we found state there was a great pillar in what would have been the town square, but we didn't find a single trace of it." Abby answered. " But that isn't the strangest part. Listen to this." Abby continued with reading.

" _I seen your soul is soothed, such is the beauty of my mark." The great being said to me. " But to your enemies, they will only see the beauty it bestows upon you. But heed this edict! Let no demon touch this stone, for if you do, the horrors unleashed upon the world would cause even me to tremble." I stayed silent under his words, but the lord seemed to know what I felt. He left in a blaze of light that made my eyes cry under its brilliance. I can only pray this divine being has sided with us, this Haru Kantose._

Callie and Abby stayed silent, the words of the writing still sinking into their beings.

" That's what he wrote." Abby said as he put the paper back on the desk.

" You think it's a legend or something?" Callie questioned.

" I don't know what to think. He could have made the story up so he would be given divine right to rule, but most kings never actually wrote they experienced it."

" There's no way that can be true. It's like saying Athena in Greek myth really turned a woman into a spider." Callie stated.

" Well, that was their belief system." Abby smirked. " Anyways, the book's going back to its place in the exhibit. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Callie smiled back at the archeologist.

" Me too." The she-kat replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

" That was awesome!" Jake commented as the show ended. The brown kat reached for the last slice of pizza, but was beaten to the punch by Chance.

" Not this time buddy." The tabby grinned as he took a big chomp out of the slice.

" Right, you always get the last slice." Jake reminded.

" I've got a bigger stomach to feed." Chance replied.

_You don't need to be a genius to see that._ Jake thought. The brown kat looked over to Tai.

" So, what'd you think?" Jake asked.

" It was ok I guess." Tai replied.

" Ok?"

" Well, he talks about things you already know are funny." Tai explained. " In Scardey kat, you don't know what's gonna happen. That's what makes it funny."

" Amen kid." Chance responded. Jake just shook his head.

" Whatever. I guess I just have more refined taste." The brown kat said. Chance stood up and stretched his arms.

" We better get to the hangar and give the Turbokat a tune-up." Chance suggested.

" Right. The targeting scope was a little off and we need to tune the laser system too." Jake agreed as he stood up.

" Alright, lets get to it then." Tai replied. Chance and Jake looked to each other and then back to the red kat.

" You should go on to bed kid. We'll take care of the jet." Chance suggested.

" But I'm a SWAT Kat too guys." Tai responded.

" Don't worry kid, we're not questioning that." Jake explained. " We've been working hard today and you have to do target rounds tomorrow." Tai looked at the two and sighed.

" Ok ok, you win." Tai conceded. The two toms waited for Tai to disappear up the stairs before they started for the secret passage.

" Good kid." Chance said as he started down the latter.

" Yeah." Jake replied as he followed. " But, I'm still worried."

" Me too." Chance agreed as he hopped down onto the floor. " We still have no idea what happened." The two remembered back on their battle against Madkat, and the power Tai displayed.

" We already ruled out that it was natural." Chance continued. " Have you found anything?"

" No. I've been stealing his books everyday and it can be a thousand things." Jake answered.

" We gotta keep looking. The kid saved us, but was pretty banged up in the end." The big tabby explained.

" Nothings happened lately. So who knows, maybe it was a one time thing." Jake suggested.

" Still, I don't want to take that chance." Chance replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Megakat Cemetery

The moon shined brightly over the grey tombstones that covered the barren earth. A tall tower rose up from the ground over the graves. It was grey and ancient, barely able to stand against the destructive powers of time. The tower had been abandoned for centuries, but had recently been occupied. From the top window of the stone tower, a purple-cloaked figure looked over the city. His orange fur clung to his bones and a single yellow eye peared out of his right socket. This being was known as the Pastmaster. He had existed for centuries, sealed inside a stone chest in the very cemetery. When two dimwitted grave robbers released him, he had tried to return Megakat city to the dark ages, but was foiled again and again by the SWAT Kats. In his hands was a small article he had tore out of the newspaper.

" This damned city! A modern day mess." The troll scowled. He leered at the sparkling streetlights and growled when he heard the sirens on Enforcer police cars. He glanced down to the paper and smirked. It read:

_There is major excitement in Megakat City. The new Bombay exhibit at the Megakat Museum of History is promised to attract people city wide to learn the fascinating history of the lost city. It has also been announced the Mayor Manx himself will open the exhibit to the public. There's no doubt about it, this will be one of monumental events of the year._

The Pastmaster couldn't help but laugh at the article. He had been to Bombay during its golden age and had seen the beauty of the city before it's calamity.

" Many will be there." The skeleton grinned. " But I must be sure the SWAT Kats attend as well. This time, they will be destroyed and the past will live again!" The sorcerer let out a high-pitched cackle that pierced the silence of the night, signaling dark things to come.


	5. Chapter 4

Note from the Author: Sorry for the wait. I wont hider you for long. I would like to thank my loyal readers, who put up with all this waiting. Anyways, please enjoy the next chapter and remember to review.

Chapter 4

Salvage Yard: 4: 40 Pm

" Come on guys, we're gonna be late!" Jake exclaimed to the two mechanics. Chance and Tai laughed loudly at Scaredy Kat, who had just been tricked into a bullfight. Chance looked away from the brightly colored screen to Jake.

" Don't worry buddy, it wont take us that long to get there." Chance responded.

" Yeah, you need to relax." Tai added.

" Sorry guys, I just don't want to be late for this. We did tell Callie we were going to be there." Jake explained. Chance and Tai looked to each other with questioning thoughts. Chance then turned to Jake with a devious smile upon his face. Jake Stepped back, knowing that that look meant something bad.

" You seem really worried about disappointing her." Chance said with his grin as he stood up. " Or maybe it's something more?"

" What do you mean?" Jake asked. Tai figured out what Chance was saying and smiled as well.

" Oh I get it." The red kat reported. " Maybe Jake thinks of her as something other than a friend."

" Alright guys, your being…." Jake began, when he figured out what they meant. " I do not think of her like that!"

" You so do." Chance responded. " My best bud Jake, finally finding a girl."

" That is not how I fell!" Jake exclaimed.

" It's ok Jake. She is pretty cute, in a business woman sort of way." Tai commented.

" I'm telling you guys for the last time! It's nothing like that!" Jake shouted. The tabby and red kat stepped away not use to Jake exploding like that.

" Fine, we wont make you say anything if you don't want to." Chance sighed.

" We were just having a little fun. Don't condemn us for it." Tai said.

" I wont. But you shouldn't joke about that kind of stuff." The brown tom replied. The telephone rang loudly in the shop, begging to be answered.

" Great, that's probably her." Jake responded, walking into the garage. Chance and Tai looked to each other and snickered.

" He likes her." Chance informed. " He just doesn't know how to say it." Tai let out a long sigh.

" I wish I could find a girl too." The red kat groaned.

" Don't worry bud, stick with me and I'll show you tricks of the trade." Chance grinned, nudging Tai gently. " You'll be so good, the girls will be throwing themselves at your feet."

" Right. If that's true, then why haven't you found some one?" Tai asked with a smirk. Chance was a little taken back by the question. He had never really thought about that subject, since it never really came up. The tom thought hard on it and found a suitable answer.

" I'm lookin for the right one. You know, perfect." The tabby answered.

" Yeah right. We both know there's nothing perfect in the world."

" You'll see. You'll see."

Meanwhile, Jake answered the phone in the garage, putting it to his ear.

"Hello, Megakat Salvage yard." He greeted.

" Yeah, I'm having problems." A deep male voice responded. " My car is stalled and I need a pickup right away."

" Alright. What's the closest mile mark?" Jake asked.

" 214" The voice answered. Jake shot up strait. That part was about twenty minutes away. But they were the closest shop to the area, and he couldn't just leave the guy. Jake pulled out a small notebook from the desk next to the phone and jotted down the mile number he had received from the customer.

" Got it. We'll be there in twenty minutes." Jake announced.

" Ok. Thank you so much." The customer's voice thanked. The call ended and Jake hung up the phone. He bore his teeth a little and went into the house to report the news.

" Guys, turn off the TV. We got a job to do." Jake announced.

" Really?" Chance questioned.

"Yep. There's a guy stranded out on mile 214 and he needs us to tow his car." Jake informed.

" Well. We better get him." Tai said. " The sooner we do, the sooner we can go to the museum."

" THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOU GUYS TO DO!" Jake shouted.

" Cool down buddy." Chance advised, putting his paws up in defense. " Lets just get in the truck and go." Jake nodded and turned around, still steaming a little.

Megakat Museum of Natural History: 4:55

Calico Briggs looked at her watch and then at the crowd. She was worried when she did not see their faces.

_I need to relax. They're probably on their way right now_. Callie thought to herself. Callie looked around the new exhibit, seeing all the fascinating artifacts that had been collected. There were suits of armor on the left wall that were found in the remains of the palace. There was a case full of ancient tomes from the great city, including the journal of the first king. In a display case was an ash-incrusted skeleton that was found in one of the remaining houses of the town. There was pottery and ancient jewelry in cases and stands in the room. There was also a display of what the traditional cloths from that time were. On the north wall was a small stage with a podium, where the mayor was to give his speech.

" Well, I believe it's time we let the people in." A feminine voice said behind her. Callie turned her head and saw Dr. Sinian was behind her.

" Has Manx arrived yet?" Callie asked.

" The guards informed he had just did." Abby answered. " Should we hold off a little longer? You look like your waiting for someone else." Callie shook her head.

" No, we should let them in. The people did pay the ticket costs after all." Callie returned. Abby nodded to the security guards at the door, giving them the signal. The guards opened to doors to the exhibit and a large crowd poured in. There were families showing their kittens the different cases and couples looked at the armors and books.

" I didn't think there would be this many people here." Abby stated.

" I guess the public finds history more interesting than I thought." Callie responded. The two looked around and saw Manx creep into the room through one of the entrances. Callie immediately ran to the mayor.

" Good afternoon Callay." Mayor Manx greeted in his heavy accented voice.

" Sir, what took so long?" Callie asked. " You were supposed to be here before the opening."

" I'm sorry. I was caught up in a game of golf with Mr. Buckfur, the manager of the city bank." Manx answered.

" You have to give the speech. It's five right now." Callie informed, showing her watch. She reached into the pocket of her suit and pulled out a pack of index cards. " I copied down your speech last night. All you have to do is…."

" No need Callay, I have a memory like a steel trap. But thanks for the concern." The mayor replied. He left the deputy mayor's side and went to the stage. Abby Sinian had already reached the stage and turned on the microphone.

" May I have your attention please?" She asked. The crowd looked to the stage, staying quiet. " Thank you all for coming to the grand opening for this exhibit. We have worked hard to uncover and understand another piece of the past. And to give us a few words about the past, we have Mayor Manx here today." The spectators clapped and cheered as Mayor Manx stepped on stage. He shook Sinian's hand politely and turned to the audience.

" Citizens of Megakat City. It is always a…. a…er." Manx began, forgetting the words to the speech.

" Psst! Psst! Mayor Manx." Callie's voice whispered. Manx looked over his shoulder and saw the she-kat behind the stage, holding out the flash cards. The orange kat quickly grabbed the cards and scanned through them, finding his place in the speech. He quickly turned back to the audience.

" As I was saying. It is always a pleasure to learn about the history of our world. For if we are to continue onto the future, we must first understand the…" A loud explosion from above interrupted the mayor. A bolt of purple lighting blasted through the glass roof of the museum and fell hard onto the stage, rocketing Manx across the room and into a wall.

" MAYOR MANX!" Callie cried, running to him. A large shadow fell and crashed through the glass, sending shards and screams running through the observers. Now on the stage was a large red-scaled dragon creature. If folded its leathery wings and snarled at the crowd, showing gleaming white sharp teeth. A small figure hopped down from the great-scaled beast. He was a short kat, but positively hideous. His orange fur clung to his bones and a purple cloak covered his body. In his hand was a large golden pocket watch, still jumping with purple electricity. The parents, children, and seniors in the crowd knew who this being was.

" IT'S THE PASTMASTER!" A woman shrieked.

" Let's get out of here!" A tom shouted as they began to run for the doors. The Pastmaster pointed at the remainders with a boney claw and the dragon leapt at them, scaring them away.

" Good my pet. Now go guard the front entrance!" The gnome ordered the dragon hissed and followed his directions. With his only good eye, the Pastmaster scoped the area and found Callie Briggs. She was shaking the mayor hard, trying to revive him.

" Manx! Mayor Manx! Please wake up!" She called, only to get a slight groan out of the old kat as a response. Callie knew she had only one choice. She dug into the purple bag she always kept with her and found the white triangle communicator. She pounded the red button on it and called into the transmitter.

" SWAT Kats! SWAT Kats! Are you there! Please answer!" She yelled franticly into the communicator.

" And what are you doing my dear?" The Pastmaster asked from behind her. Callie whipped around quickly and saw the skeletal kat. He reached out and grabbed her with a boney paw.

" Ahh! Don't touch me you sick little gnome!" Callie shouted. She threw off his grasp and went to try and carry the mayor when he grabbed her again. With his free paw, he held out the watch and blasted the armor on the left wall. The armor surged with purple energy and began to move on their own accord, fully animated.

" Find something to bind these two! Then guard the other entrances!" The Pastmaster ordered. He then turned his attention back to Callie. " I'm sorry my dear, but you must stay to help me."

" Right, like I would ever help a sick creature like you!" Callie spat back. The Pastmaster threw his head back and let out a dark laugh.

" Oh you will. By being live bait!" The skeletal kat informed.

Outside Megakat City  
" God! We're late!" Jake growled, looking down at the clock on the radio.

" That thing is always off. Don't worry about it buddy." Chance responded from the driver's seat.

" And look! There's the car!" Tai reported. Jake glanced over to the side of the road and saw a white F-150. A tall grey furred tom was standing outside next it, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. Chance pulled the tow truck over to the side of the road and hopped out.

" About time." The grey kat said.

" Sorry. Traffic was pretty bad." Chance responded. The tabby strolled to the truck and popped open the hood. Steam flew into the open air and made a loud hissing sound. Jake and Tai hopped out of the truck and joined the tabby.

" Wow. This is bad." Jake said as he inspected it. " Your engines in bad shape. We're gonna have to take it back to the shop and fix it."

" So there's nothing you can do now?" The tom asked.

" Sorry. Do you need a ride?" Chance asked.

" No. I called for a cab a while ago. They'll be able to take me."

Jake glanced over to Tai and asked, " Can you turn the truck around?"

" Sure." Tai answered. The red kat walked over to the diver's side of the tow truck and opened. But as he was about to get in, he saw a flashing light on the left side of the steering wheel. Tai flipped a switch next to it and listened carefully.

" SWAT Kats! SWAT Kats! Are you there! Please answer!" Callie's voice sounded. The transition was immediately cut afterwards. Tai's eyes immediately went wide and his ears shot up in alarm.

" Hey Tai, hurry up!" Chance called. Tai looked to the two other mechanics.

" Uh guys, we have a problem." The red kat reported.


	6. Chapter 5

Note from the Author: Sorry this has been taking so long. I am seriously trying to work on it more then I have. This chapter is going to be relatively short to set the stage for the big one. If you read this and like it or think I can improve, please review. I love to hear what people think of my work. Anyways, here's the next chapter of Pillar of Power!

Chapter 5

" Something wrong with the car?" Chance asked.

" Well, I don't know. Help me out here." Tai responded, tilting his head in signal. Chance and Jake immediately got it and the two walked over casually, as to not alert their waiting customer.

" What/s the problem?" Jake whispered when he and Chance got to the red kat. Tai repeated what he heard on the radio to his friends, and was not detoured when he saw the worried looks on their faces.

" We need to get there fast!" Chance said with an urgent voice.

" Right." Jake agreed.

" Excuse me, are you gonna take my car or not!" The customer asked, feeling really impatient.

" Yes sir, right away." Jake responded. Jake hoped into the tow truck and turned it around. Chance then slipped the hook onto the truck's axel.

" We'll get right on it sir, should take about three days." Chance said.

" Thanks." The grey furred tom responded. Chance and Tai got into the truck with Jake, Chance slipping into the driver's seat. They drove away quickly, waiting till they would be out of sight. Jake looked out the rearview mirror and saw they were safe.

" Alright Chance, hit it!" Jake ordered.

" Roger!" Chance responded. A dash bar began to show electronic speed measures as the truck's rear changed to show thrusters. Chance floored the gas and the thrusters came to life, rocketing them towards home. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Megakat Museum of Natural History

" FIRE AT WILL!" Feral commanded from his chopper. Two three-jet squadrons flew from his left and right towards two airborne dragons. The bright flash of lasers began to color the sky as the pilots fired at the beasts. The dragons retaliated, evading the beams with ease.

I Attack and destroy them my pets. We must wait for the real prey. /I The Pastmaster's voice rang in their minds. The winged beasts roared and charged at their targets. One of the jets was to bold and went close for a sure fire hit, but the dragon was too fast and it easily ripped through the jet with its metal claw. The aircraft fell to the ground and exploded, but not before the pilot could eject. The other two jets came in to avenge their comrade, but were surprised with the dragon's counter. A large lump appeared in its throat and began to climb up to its mouth. The dragon opened its jaws and great vermillion flames burst out. The two pilots were too slow in their reaction and were hit with the fire, bursting apart immediately.

" NO!" Feral shouted. The other team was having the same luck. Two were smacked by the beast's tail and fell immediately while the third was attacking. The last fighter got in a few shots, burning the red beast's flesh. The dragon roared in fury and dove at the jet, biting the cockpit with its massive jaws.

" Sorry commander, guess I wont be going home." The pilot said over the radio as the glass began to break. He quickly aimed at the beast. Just as the dragon's jaws crashed through the glass and tears into the pilot, the kat hit the trigger. A missile flew from the jet and slammed right into the beast's throat. The explosion tore open the dragon's throat and made him roar in pain as he fell to the earth.

" GOD DAMMIT!" Feral roared. He tuned his radio into the headquarters' frequency. " I need jet and chopper back up immediately!" He gazed forward and saw the second dragon was heading for him, ready to take vengeance for his comrade. This was one of those rare times for Feral, a time he wished the SWAT Kats were there. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Salvage Yard

The three kats were quick to park the truck and race to the Hangar. Jake went to the main computer consol and began to tract the last signal of the communicator. The screen flashed to show a map of the entire city, but then zeroed in onto a section.

" She's at the museum. Just like she said she would," Jake reported.

" Maybe we should have gone sooner then." Chance figured. " We could have helped her there."

" Gee, you think?" Jake replied sarcastically.

" Look Jake, we're sorry we made you late." Tai responded.

" Yeah, lets leave that till later and focus on getting Callie safe." Chance suggested. Jake gave the two a stern look and then went to his locker. The three kat's changed into their uniforms and boarded the Turbokat. The platform lowered down into the runway and T-bone slammed on the thrusters, blasting them out of the hangar and into the skies. T-bone turned on the channel and the screen flashed to show Blaze.

" Yo kid, can you show us what's happening there?" T-bone requested.

" Affirmative." Blaze responded. The red SWAT Kat pressed a button on his consol and his poc-com rose from a hidden compartment. Blaze turned it on and immediately began to work.

" Hurry up Blaze." Razor insisted.

" Keep your fur on, this is kinda complicated." Blaze responded. " Done! I'm uploading the security camera footage onto the screens." Blaze set the mini supercomputer into the compartment and hit a series of commands. The picture appeared on both T-bone and Razor's screens. On the screen was the Pastmaster in the Bombay exhibit. The purple cloaked kat scanning over the artifacts, looking for something specific.

" The Pastmaster!" Razor exclaimed.

" Oh crud! He's the guy who make all those mummies appear a year ago." Blaze added. T-bone put a paw over his eyes and shook his head.

" Don't remind us." He groaned. T-bone took his paw away from his face and scanned the screen. " Callie aint here. Can you switch it to another camera?"

" On it." Blaze replied. He switched the cameras and looked through the entire building till he found them. A picture of Mayor Manx and calico Briggs tied up together in a different room popped up.

" Looks like he didn't want to be bothered." T-bone figured.

" I don't know T-bone, something's fishy about this." Razor said.

" Whatever, we're here." The tabby responded. The SWAT Kat saw the building come into view, but also saw the dogfight Commander Feral was having with the dragon. The enforcer dodged a tail smash as well as a claw strike.

" Looks like we have to help Commander Tightwad." T-bone groaned.

" Hey, maybe he'll give us a break this time." Blaze stated. T-bone looked at the red kat with disbelief while Razor shook his head.

" Kid, you've got a lot to learn." T-bone muttered. Razor targeted the massive dragon.

" Well, here goes." He said, hitting a switch. A plain old missile with " From Razor, with love" written on it flew from the Turbokat and plowed into the dragon, knocking him back and giving feral just enough time to escape. The enforcer looked back to see if he was out of danger when his radio received transition.

" Hey commander, better leave the bad guys to us." T-bone's voice mocked playfully. Feral sneered and bared his teeth at the message.

" Back off SWAT Kats! The Enforcers can handle these beasts." Feral barked.

" Yeah, real nice work so far." Razor responded. The dragon regained its lost altitude and turned its attention to the Turbokat. The winged lizard roared with fury as its leathery wings shifted, flying it right to the jet.

" Hey it comes buddy." T-bone warned.

" I got it in my sights, just keep us a good distance from it." Razor replied.

" I'll activate the laser system and help out." Blaze announced, about to turn on the controls.

" Negative. Let Razor handle this." T-bone responded. He saw Blaze's eyes look downcast for a moment on the screen just before he gave a fake smile.

" Rodger." Blaze returned. T-bone dived right under the dragon as he rushed at them, passing under the monster's soft belly.

" Alright. Time for a Scrambler missile!" Razor said, firing the red cylinder missile from the top launcher. The missile flew right to dragon and four black claws emerged out of it. The claws dug into the dragon's flesh, holding the missile still and making the monster roar. The missile shocked the dragon with a million volts of electricity, making it immediately plummet to the ground.

" BINGO!" Razor shouted in triumph. Blaze smiled at the success of Razor's attack, forgetting the upset feeling of being left out. Feral was in utter shock of how the SWAT Kats had easily dispatched the dragon, when two of his platoons were taken down by it and its brother.

_I don't understand._ Feral thought to himself._ We have better equipment, numbers, training, and experience. How can it be that these hotshot vigilantes are better than we are?_

The tom turned his attention to the radio when he heard another transition come in.

" Attention all Enforcers, request for back up at the museum main entrance." The voice spoke over it. Feral shook his head and changed the frequency back to the SWAT Kat's jet.

" Your lucky I don't have time to play around with you two!" Feral sneered.

" Don't worry commander, we were thinking the same thing." Razor responded. Feral bared his teeth, but ignored them and continued onward to help the other enforcer parties in need. Blaze shook his head and sighed.

" Three. There are three of us." The red kat said.

" Don't worry kid, they'll get you one day." T-bone replied, trying to cheer him up.

" Yeah, but right now, we need to save Callie and the Mayor." Razor stated. T-bone turned the jet around and flew to the rooftop of the museum. The burly tabby made a soft landing on the top and got out along with Blaze and Razor. Razor looked on his glove and used the heat signature device to locate Callie, Manx, and the Pastmaster.

" The Pastmaster's in the main exhibit room." Razor reported. " But Callie and Manx are on the other side of the building."

" Alright. We go after the little troll and then go get her." T-bone replied. Blaze thought about the options and found the best one.

" You guys have a lot more experience fighting this guy then I do." The red kat began. " So I'll go and bring them out while you deal with him."

" No way. I don't want to get separated." T-bone returned, crossing his arms over his chest.

" Think about it T-bone. The kid wont be in much danger and we'll be able to take the Pastmaster out without worrying about Callie." Razor advised. T-bone looked to the ginger kat, then to Blaze, then back to Razor. The tabby sighed for a moment before he looked back up to them.

" Alright, I'll let you go." He said. " But I want radio contact at all times. And if things look bad, call for use immediately."

" I will." Blaze replied. " And don't worry, I'm not in training anymore after all."

_Yeah, but you've only gone on one mission and not alone._ T-bone thought. Razor had already started for the stairs when T-bone and Blaze finished. The two noticed Razor missing and quickly rushed to rejoin him. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Inside

The Pastmaster had watched the whole discussion about what they were going to do with the power of his pocket watch.

" What! Another annoying mortal to get in my way! The orange skeletal kat exclaimed. The discovery of another SWAT Kat had shocked him. However, it did play into his hands now.

" Now that the SWAT Kats are going to split up, I can eliminate those infernal annoyances at once and then destroy the new guy." The Pastmaster said to himself. He let out a piercing cackle as he watched the SWAT kats run down the stairs towards him, unaware that they were going strait into the Pastmaster's trap and ultimately, their doom.


	7. Chapter 6

Note from the Author: OH MY GOD! TIGERKAT KEPT HIS PROMISE! Lol. Anyways, I was on break from school, so I was able to work on it. Bad news, I have to go back on Monday, horrible schedule and everything. But I will still work hard on this so you loyal readers wont have to wait as long as before. I'm sorry to say this, but I might be leaving you with a few cliff-hangars. Please forgive me for that. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter and remember to review.

Chapter 6

Callie awoke from her sleep with a slight groan.

" Err, what happened?" She questioned. The deputy mayor felt something tight around her chest and arms. Callie looked down and discovered she had been bound tightly with a thick string of rope.

" What! What's going on?" She exclaimed. Callie felt warmth on her back and shifted her head to see what it was with her peripheral vision. The deputy mayor discovered she wasn't the only one bound by the rope. Tied with her, back to back, was Mayor Manx.

" Mayor!" Callie shouted. The old orange kat was still out cold, his head was down and his eyes were closed. The kat breathed in and out softly and slowly, keeping a smooth rhythm.

" Mayor Manx, wake up." Callie begged. " Please wake up." She shifted and shook her body, shaking Manx as a result of it. The old orange kat let out a soft groan, a sign of his dreams being disturbed.

" WAKE UP!" Callie shouted, rocking side to side rapidly. Manx was jolted awake, opening his eyes and yawning.

" I here by dedicate this bridge to…"He began until he back fully awake and his mind registered what was going on around him. Manx looked back and spotted Callie.

" Callie? What is going on here?" Manx asked with a worried accent.

" I don't know." Callie answered. " The last thing I remember is the Pastmaster appearing and grasping me."

" So that was the lightning." Manx figured. " Wait! THE PASTMASTER'S HERE!"

" Yes, and we have to get out of here." Callie responded. " Help me get out of these ropes." Manx nodded in agreement and began to squirm and shift his body around. The two wiggled and squirmed in hopes to try and free themselves. To the kats joy, the ropes began to loosen and give way. Callie felt that she now had a chance and shifted the rope upward, passing it over her head and freeing her from their grasp.

" I'm out." She said. Manx easily got out of the bindings, since Callie escaping gave more space. The Deputy Mayor helped the Mayor to his feet.

" Alright, we have to find a way out of here." Callie said. Manx nodded in agreement, keeping his mouth shut so no loud noises came out of it. Callie saw his eyes wonder around, and freeze. His eyes widened and he let out a whimper. Callie expected the worst and turned around. Before her was a large suit of metallic armor. It was shining, even in the shadowy darkness of the room. The style of the armor suggested that it was form the middle ages. The armored stranger grabbed the deputy mayor's shoulders as she examined it.

" Now now my dear. You can't leave yet." It said in a familiar voice.

" Pastmaster! Let me go!" Callie shrieked. She broke out of his grasp and smacked the helmet, making it fly off. Callie was too much in shock to notice the throbbing pain in her hand. She saw that under the helmet was nothing. The armor was empty, and moving by Pastmaster's will.

" Rebind her and the buffoon!" The troll's voice rang from within the empty armor. The steel armor grabbed Callie and held her as she kicked and screamed. The mayor turned to run in his normal cowardly fashion, but was stopped when another living suit of armor appeared.

" Ah…Oi." Manx responded as he fainted onto the ground, the situation too much of a shock for him.

_And people wonder why we fund the Enforcers so much._ Callie thought with disappointment. The suit that held her walked towards the fallen Manx and its partner retrieved the rope. They began to bind then once again when their master's voice sounded.

" Hold your ground and guard them. A new pest is coming to free them." The Pastmaster ordered, his voice echoing through the room.

_New…pest? _Callie questioned herself as the rope was wrapped around her tighter then before. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The three SWAT Kats ran swiftly down the museum stairs. Level after level flew past them as they made their way to the first floor.

" Never knew this place was so elaberate." Razor commented.

" At least we don't have much to go." T-bone stated, pointing down to show the end of the stairs. A thought came into Blaze's mind when they reached the bottom.

" Um guys, don't you think this place would have some kind of...?" Blaze began when T-bone kicked open the door that led into the museum. They saw that the room had very few artifacts in it, but all the other exits were sealed with thick steal walls.

" Security system." Blaze finished. T-bone shook his head side to side in disappointment.

" Great, just another thing to get in our way." He said. The burly tabby looked over to Razor. The two seemed like they shared the same mind, because Razor smiled and nodded to his partner. Blaze watched curiously as the two walked up to one of the steel walls and pointed their glovatrix's to it. A small white flame came out of the tips of the glove and burned strait through the metal wall. T-bone arced his arm right while razor arced his left at the came time, cutting a circle into the wall and making an entrance.

" Just like when we were in the future, huh." Razor commented.

" The future?" Blaze questioned. T-bone and Razor remembered the young kat was present and chuckled to themselves.

" We'll tell ya about it when we're done." T-bone replied. Razor looked to his glove and pressed a switch, turning on the Mini Kat tracker.

" Lets see, they should be...huh!" Razor remarked.

" What's up?" T-bone asked. Razor showed hit the tracker. It showed a map of the entire floor and small red spots.

" Last time I scanned, I only got three biomasses." Razor explained. " But now there's much more."

" So? We still know where they are." Blaze responded.

" How do we know they didn't move?" Razor pointed out. Blaze looked downcast, feeling really stupid. T-bone frowned at this and spoke up.

" We don't know if they moved or not." T-bone said. " But we at least know they were there. If we search those areas, we can either find them or a clue to where they were taken."

" Alright then, we'll keep going with plan A." Razor replied. He looked over to Blaze. " When you find Callie and the Mayor, get to safety before you come for us."

" Yes sir!" Blaze joked, saluting to the ginger kat. Razor frowned while T-bone gave a small hearty laugh.

" Remember, radio contact at all times." T-bone reminded. Blaze nodded and went to the south wall. He followed the same procedure his partners did and disappeared through the entrance he made. T-bone and Razor continued into the next room. There were staged sets that showed the evolution of katkind. One showed three cavekats sitting around a fire.

" Like looking in a mirror, eh T-bone?" Razor joked. T-bone huffed and looked closely at one of the figures.

" You need to get your eyes checked buddy." T-bone remarked. " Looks nothing like me." The ginger and tabby SWAT Kats turned away, unaware that the eyes of that same dummy were following them.

Bombay Exhibit

The Pastmaster smashed his paw through another glass case, the clear shards glittering in the din light as they flew into the air and scattered on the ground, chiming as they hit. The orange skeletal put his hand through the newly made hole and picked up an ancient text. His eye scanned the words and a scowl lined his lips.

" USLESS!" He shouted, tossing the tome aside. _It's here; I know it's here. So why is it that the tome wish to hide from me?_ He thought with the scowl still fresh on his face. The Pastmaster reached into his cloak and pulled out his pocket watch. On the glass on the watch was not his reflection, but what one of his servants was seeing. The image showed the blond and ginger SWAT Kat, just finishing a patrol on the room. The Pastmaster smiled sinisterly. He had been thwarted so many times by those two meddling mortals. When he tried to turn back the clock on Megakat City, when he was going to marry Calista and make Megalith City his kingdom, the time he sent them into a dark future, and when they defeated the Katchu Pichu mummies. Each time, he had been to the brink of death while they escaped unscathed. But not this time.

" Show me the other thorn." The Pastmaster commanded. The watched shimmered with violet energy till it showed Blaze, cutting a fresh hole into a steel security wall.

" Very well. It does not matter whether he dies now or not, but the other two," He began, the sinister smile becoming more insane. " I want to see them grovel and beg for mercy before I send them to their doom. Now my servants, reveal yourselves and strike!" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Upon the Pastmaster's command, the three cavekats began to move. They rose up slowly, not making a sound even when they began to move across the floor. T-bone and Razor had finished surveying the room and had their attention on making a new hole to crawl through. Just as the flames on their gloves were about to connect, Razor looked back and saw the moving figures. The ginger kat's jaw dropped, surprised that they weren't alone anymore.

" T-bone, your double's moving!" Razor informed.

" I told you! He looks nothing…!" T-bone began when he looked back, seeing the spectacle. " HOLY KATS!" One of the cavekats leapt at T-bone, slamming him against the wall they had began to cut through. The impact broke the small portion of uncut steel and knocked the hole open, making T-bone and the assailant fly inside.

" T-bone!" Razor shouted when he saw this. The other two cavekats charged at Razor, intent to do as their master had commanded. Razor saw the movement just in time and jumped into the air as one of the cavekat's dived for a tackle, sending him to the ground. Razor rolled in the air and landed behind the other attacker. The ginger tom pointed his Glovatrix at the primitive kat and fired a bola missile. The bola wrapped around the cavekat and bound him tight, eliminating him as a threat. The other cavekat stood up from the ground and let out a fierce roar as he charged at Razor again. As soon as the massive tom came close, Razor sidestepped him to the right, dodging the charge and leapt into the air. Razor spun and delivered a kick to the back of the cavekat's head, sending him toppling to the floor unconscious. Meanwhile, T-bone and his attacker were wrestling on the ground, both trying to subdue the other.

" YOU PICKED THE WRONG DAY TO MESS WITH ME!" T-bone roared as he positioned his arms around the cavekat. T-bone brought his opponent up into a suplex , the cavekat's legs kicking in the air as he grunted and hollered in some unknown language. T-bone smiled as he brought the kat's back down to the floor, slamming him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. The cavekat went unconscious a few moments after the attack connected.

" Heh, who's stronger now?" T-bone mocked.

" Uh T-bone, it's a dummy." Razor pointed out as he came through the makeshift entrance. T-bone raised an eyebrow at his partner, but then shifted his gaze over to the muscle-bound tom he just faced. T-bone's eyes went wide under his mask when he saw that the kat he had just face was in fact a dummy replica.

" Crud! With all the stuff here, the Pastmaster could have made all sorts of spies." The blond tabby commented.

" Great, just what we need." Razor groaned. " We need to find the Pastmaster and…!" The ginger kat stopped when he realized something.

" What?" T-bone questioned.

" Blaze! He could be in serious trouble!" Razor exclaimed.

" Crud!" T-bone responded. The masked hero turned on the transmitter in his glove and began calling Blaze in it, hoping to god that the young kat would reply. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

" Wow! This place is actually kinda creepy when you're alone." Blaze commented as he entered a new room through the hole he just made. The room was very large, and for good reason. The area was a large dinosaur exhibit. There were cases displaying fossils scattered all around the area. Pictures of the scaled creatures lined hung on the walls, showing skeletal structures, possible organ systems, habitats, and the prey they hunted. Hanging from the ceiling were pterodactyl models and in the center of the room, standing tall and proud, was the complete structure of a Megasaurus Rex. Blaze gazed at the gargantuan statue of bones, fixated on how tall and old the beast was. The bones were a dark caramel with light brown specks in them.

_Amazing!_ Blaze thought. _But.. Something doesn't feel right about it._

" Blaze! Blaze! Come in kid!" T-bone's voice shouted from the Glovatrix. The red kat's attention was captured by the voice and he turned away from the skeleton.

" What is it T-bone? Did you guys find the hostages and beat the Pastmaster already?" Blaze asked.

" No, but your in serious danger bud." T-bone answered.

" Danger?" Blaze questioned.

" Yeah. T-bone and I were just attacked by cavekats." Razor's voice explained. " We think the Pastmaster may have animated some of the exhibits so they could act as spies and guards."

" He can do that!" Blaze exclaimed. " But I haven't seen any….!" The red kat stopped when his ears picked up a faint popping sound. It wasn't very loud, but just enough to register the fact that he wasn't alone. Blaze turned around slowly, only to realize he was face to face with the skull of the Megasaurus Rex. The SWAT Kat was frozen with fear as the pile of bones began to sniff him, oblivious to the fact that it has been dead for years and had no nostrils. Blaze was shocked from this display, not even able to let out a whimper.

" Kid? You there?" T-bone asked over the radio. The Megasaurus Rex pulled its head back in response to the tabby's voice. It then lowered it so he was face to face with Blaze and let out a piercing roar. Blaze felt the sound shoot through him before he was caught in the windblast. The roar knocked him off his feet and carried him in the air before sending him to the ground on his tail. Razor and T-bone jumped four feet into the air in reaction to the roar.

" What the hell?" T-bone shouted after he landed. Blaze had his eyes focused on the monster when he raised his glove.

" T-bone. I'll have to call you back." He said. Blaze stood up and ran as fast as his feet could take him. The Megasaurus Rex chased after him, making the ground shake with every massive step he took. Blaze turned his head as he ran and saw the skeleton was stretching out to snap at him. The red kat instinctively dived and rolled, avoiding the decayed jaws of the skeleton. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

" Dammit! I'm gonna get that kid and drag his tail back here!" T-bone roared with anger. The blond tabby began to stomp towards to hole in the wall when Razor grabbed his wrist, stopping T-bone.

" T-bone, we have to focus on the mission." Razor stated.

" And what? Let him get gored?" T-bone returned.

" He's not gonna get hurt." Razor replied. T-bone stared at Razor with disbelief.

" What makes you think that?" T-bone barked. " So we go on and find the Pastmaster. It's not worth having to make his coffin!"

" I know he wont be hurt Hotshot." Razor replied calmly. " You and I both know how resourceful he can be when he sets his mind on it. He'll handle it, so you don't need to keep worrying about him."

" How did you…?" T-bone began.

" You wouldn't let him help against that dragon. That was the first clue." The ginger kat interrupted, a slight smile playing on his lips. " What are you so worried about?" T-bone turned his head away from his partner. He wanted to say, but he knew that they didn't have the time.

" Forget about it." The blond tabby returned, pulling his arm out of the slim tom's grasp. " We don't have time for this. We need to find the little goblin and get out of here."

" Right." Razor agreed. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Blaze dived to the side, avoiding a bone-crushing stomp. The red kat was breathing heavily, his energy going deep into the red.

_I can't keep running._ He thought as the dinosaur halted. _I need to find a weakness and beat…_ before Blaze could finish the thought, the skeleton whipped around fast, smashing Blaze with its tail. Blaze cried in pain and reached out with his paws. His hand caught the end of the skeleton's tail, but with a quick snap sound, he continued through the air into a wall. He quickly slid to the ground. It felt like the attack had cracked a rib.

_God! It hurts!_ Blaze thought with his teeth grit. _But what was that? When I had his tail._ Blaze looked down and saw the answer. Right beside him was the tailbone he had grabbed. The red kat stared at it with disbelief, until a sly smile appeared on his mug. The Megasaurus Rex roared loudly, catching Blaze's attention. The red kat stood up, his determination pushed away the pain he felt in his body. The Megasaurus Rex charged at him, unknowing of the plan the kid had made. As it got close, the skeleton had lowered its head to bite when Blaze jumped to the right. As he was in the air, Blaze aimed at the monster's exposed neck. He fired a missile, and the projectile stuck the target. The bones in the neck exploded into small splinters, disconnecting the head with the body. With a symphony of cracking and snapping, the living skeleton fell apart, decorating the floor with their decayed limbs. Blaze stood up and shook his head.

" He was only a skeleton after all." Blaze sighed. " Man I'm stupid. Just glad T-bone didn't see that or he'd have me do laps for a week." The red kat started to walk towards the nearest sealed entrance, wincing in pain from the cracked rib. He immediately began to cut into the wall, not knowing or caring what was on the other side. When he finished, the SWAT Kat gasped with surprise. On the other side of the opening, tied and bound, were Mayor Manx and Callie Briggs.


	8. Chapter 7

Note from the author: Time for another update. I'm trying to make these more frequent, hope I'm doing a good job about it. Anyways, I'm sorry, but I have to give you another cliff-hangar. I don't think they'll be one after this, but I'll try not to write another. Well, I wont bother you anymore. Enjoy chapter seven of Pillar of Power, and remember to review please. Chow!

Chapter 7

Callie Briggs felt horrible. For the first time since she was taken prisoner by the Pastmaster in the Katchu Pichu pyramids, she felt more then helpless. She felt like this was actually going to be the end. The Enforcers were probably battling some more of the little gnome's monsters and the SWAT Kats… She paused on that thought.

_Maybe I have been relying on them too much. _ The she-kat thought. _Every time there was trouble, they've always appeared and saved the day somehow. I just wish they were this..._ Callie's thoughts were interrupted when she saw a bright spark at the end on the room. On the steel security door, that had dropped moments before the Enforcers arrived, the spark floated. Callie wanted to speak up, but she knew the armors were still keeping guard and it would be wise not to warn them. Then, the spark began to move clockwise, cutting through the metal quickly as it traveled. When the light reached its starting point again, it had left a ring in the metal.

" HYAH!!" A voice shouted. There was a loud thud against the metal cut out and the steel fell to the ground, making a loud crashing sound. Callie flinched when she heard it, but looked again and saw something wondrous. In the newly made entrance was a slim kat wearing a blue and red flight suit and helmet.

_It's HIM!!! _Callie thought with unimaginable joy.

" Raz…!!!" The deputy mayor began, when she saw the color of his fur. It was a nice dark red with black stripes on the arms. The smile fell from her lips, knowing this wasn't the same tom. The red kat ran quickly to her and the tied up mayor.

" Are you ok Ms. Briggs?" The masked red kat asked.

" Yeah. I'm tied up and kept against my will, but I'm good." Callie replied sarcastically.

_No wonder Razor likes her. She's as good with sarcasm as he is._ Blaze thought. He pressed a button on his Glovatrix and a small circular saw came out from the glove.

" Hold still please. Razor and T-bone would be furious if I scratched your fur." Blaze requested as he started to cut the ropes. Callie stood as still as a statue as the red kat cut through the binds. The ropes fell to the floor, but so did an unconscious Manx.

" I take it he didn't go along with this whole thing very well." Blaze commented. Callie went to the mayor's side.

" Mayor Manx! Mayor Manx! Wake up!!" Callie begged as she shook him. A strange feeling of déjà vu struck her when the old kat didn't wake. But a sly plan entered her mind. She bent her head down to the mayor's ear and whispered.

" Sir, wake up. You just won the PGA Tour." She announced. The old kat shot up strait, his eyes wide and a smile on his face.

" Government is like golf." He announced, acting as if he was giving a victory speech. " You must always shoot towards..a..goal." His happiness vanished, realizing he wasn't on a golf course. He turned his head around and looked to Blaze and Calico.

" What's going on? And who are you?" Manx asked. Callie looked strait at Blaze, having the same question.

" Me? Well..uh..I'm Blaze." Blaze answered.

" Blaze?" Callie questioned.

" Yeah, kind of a SWAT Kat in-training. Or out of training, but still new to this." Blaze clarified. Callie and Manx looked to each other, completely confused and questioning. Unknown to Blaze, one of the two suits of armor in the room had started moving slowly towards him, a long, shimmering steel sword in its hand.

" Well, I know how cool this place is, but I have to get you guys out of here." Blaze informed. Callie and Many looked back to him, and saw the armor.

" LOOK OUT!!" Callie cried. Blaze's ears caught the " Clank" of Armor against the marble floor and looked over his back, just in time to see the armor had the sword over its head and ready to strike. Blaze leapt to the left just as the armor swung, dodging the blade. The red kat landed on his feel.

" Oh please, I learned last time." Blaze growled. " Your just a stack of steel!!" The red kat leapt into the air and kicked the armor, but felt the pain. He landed on his other foot and cringed with pain.

_Ok. That wasn't smart._ Blaze thought. _Man, I am so glad the guys aren't here._

The armor rushed the red kat and swung the blade again, but the red kat dodged it.

" I am so sick of these things!!" Blaze growled as he pointed his glove at the animated suit. A missile blasted out of the Glovatrix, hammering into the suit and knocking it apart in a fiery burst. But while the occurred, the other suit snuck up behind Blaze, and put its hands around the red kat's throat. The cold metal fingers squeezed the red kat's esophagus, preventing air from reaching his lounges. Blaze started to make choking sounded as the armor lifted him into the air, keeping its grip on him. Blaze's legs kicked and flailed while he tried to pry the armor's hands off of him. Callie and Manx were frozen with terror, watching the whole event in stunned silence.

_No! I can die here!_ Blaze thought as he began to feel lightheaded. He shifted his right hand away from the hands on his throat and pointed it at the leg of the armor.

_Please work!_ Blaze begged. He hit and fired two mini-Turboblades into the leg of the attacker. The blades cut through the metal easily, severing the leg from the rest of the body. The armor's balance broke and it fell to the ground, releasing its grip on Blaze's throat and crashing to the floor. Blaze hit the ground as well, coughing and gasping for air. He glanced and saw the armor trying to go for its severed leg. Blaze silently pointed his Glovatix and fired another blade; cutting though the armor diagonally and making it fall apart. Callie and Manx rushed to Blaze's side.

" Are you ok?" Callie asked.

" Yeah." Blaze whispered. " Don't worry. Happens all the time."

" That was very good. Really well done my boy." Manx commented. " But, I really need to get home." Blaze stood up, stumbling for a moment before he gained his bearings.

" Yes sir." Blaze replied. The red kat motioned for the two to follow him as he got up and started for the hole in the wall.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

T-bone and Razor lit their blowtorches and started burning into another wall. The white-hot flames were cutting easily into the cold metal.

" We've searched all those rooms and not one sign of the Pastmaster." Razor growled.

" Maybe the kid had better luck." T-bone stated. He stopped for a moment and turned on the radio. " Blaze, come in! Did you find Ms. Briggs and the Mayor?"

" Affirmative T-bone." Blaze's voice responded. " I have secured the hostages. We're exiting the building right now."

" Good job buddy." T-bone replied. " When they're safe, come back in and meet with us."

" Rodger. Blaze out." Blaze said, turning off the radio. Razor gave T-bone a look.

" Alright alright." T-bone responded. " I shouldn't have made a big deal about it."

" Hey, it just goes to show we trained a good SWAT Kat." Razor remarked. T-bone pondered that for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.

" Yeah, your right." T-bone agreed. The tabby put a fist over his heart. " Taught him everything I know."

" So that's why he still can't get a date." Razor joked. T-bone gave him a glare before starting back on the door. The tabby's blowtorch sliced easily though the wall. He then punched it hard, so to cut out piece fell inwards. The two gazed in and found that they had reached their destination. The new Bombay exhibit, where the Pastmaster was last reported, was now open.

" No use standing out here." Razor figured, stepping in with T-bone.

" Watch the floor bud." T-bone warned. " There's broken glass everywhere." Razor's eyes spotted the smashed cases, easily figuring where the glass shards had originated. He also noticed many of the books that had been on display were now scattered around on the floor.

" T-bone, I think he was looking for something." Razor informed.

" Looking for what?" T-bone questioned. "We have no idea what was here buddy.

" Ah, but I do." A third voice sounded. T-bone and Razor shot glances towards the sounds direction, just to see the Pastmaster. He stood tall with his cape waving, and behind him were two fierce Velociraptor.

" Why are you here Pastmaster!!??" T-bone shouted.

" That's very simple SWAT Kats." The Pastmaster answered with a scowl. " You had defeated me too many times. I'm going to exact my revenge on both you and the city." Razor's eyes scanned the skeletal kat, and saw he had an old book in his paws.

" T-bone, that must have what he was looking for." Razor reported.

" Whatever it is, its not good." T-bone replied.

" Right indeed." The Pastmaster added. " This book is the journal of the first king of Bombay. Hidden deep within its pages is the secret to the weapon of Bombay, the Havanna Pillar."

" The Havanna Pillar?" T-bone questioned.

" It doesn't matter! We'll get rid of that this, just like we got rid of the Tome of Time." Razor growled. The Pastmaster smiled wickedly at the two.

" I don't think my servants would like that." The Pastmaster informed, gesturing to his raptors. He then pointed to the SWAT Kats. " Tear them apart!!" The raptors hiss and screeched before leaping into the air, aiming strait for T-bone and Razor. The two were above the kats, their jaws open to snap and tear the kat's flesh.

" Sorry, not today!" Razor responded, pointing his Glovatrix at the large lizard and fired a bola. The bola wrapped around the raptor's mouth, sealing it shut. The surprise of the action made it lose its balance and fall to the floor. The other raptor landed on T-bone and knocked him to the ground. The raptor snapped at T-bone, but the burly tom held the monster's jaws apart.

" God, this things got breath that can peel paint!" The tom complained as the Raptor's warm breath hit him right in the face.

" T-bone!" Razor exclaimed. He was about to go to him, when the monster he had bound regained its balance. The massive lizard stood up and charged at Razor with its claws extended. Razor aimed his glove again and fired a missile into the raptor, knocking it away in a fiery blast. Meanwhile, T-bone was struggling to keep the giant lizard from devouring him. The Raptor flailed its claws around and caught T-bone on the arm. T-bone cried out in pain as his fur and flesh peeled off under the sharp claws.

" I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS CREEP!!" He shouted. The kat kicked up into the Raptor's stomach. The tom implanted the claws on his foot into the monster's skin and hooked into it. He then dragged his foot down, raking the flesh. The Raptor screeched and pulled its head away from T-bone. The SWAT Kat saw his chance and right hooked the monster with the glovatrix, knocking it away.

" You ok bud?" Razor asked as he helped T-bone up. T-bone glanced at the cut. He felt the pain, but it was mild enough to ignore.

" Yeah, I'm fine." T-bone replied. The burly tabby looked around, and noticed something missing. " Where's the Pastmaster!!??" Razor whirled about and saw the truth for himself.

" Crud! He must have gotten away when we were fighting those oversized geckos." The ginger kat growled.

" Hate to say it, but we need to regroup with the kid and…" T-bone began, when a bolt of purple lightning struck next to them. It blasted a metal case and reduced it to chard metal and smoke.

" WHOA!!" Razor exclaimed.

" He's still here!" T-bone shouted.

" But you wont be!" The Pastmaster's voice sounded as another bolt struck next to them. This time, a purple spark was left floating in the air. Suddenly, it began to expand, getting larger and larger. The center area began to implode into itself, until a large hole appeared. It continued to inhale catching T-bone and Razor in its range.

" Ah! T-bone!!" Razor shouted as he began to slide towards the vortex.

" Razor!!" T-bone shouted as he began to slide as well. They were swept off their feet and flew towards the vortex. Razor, on pure instinct, pointed his glovatrix and fired the grappling hook away from the portal. The hook caught onto a broken case, securing tightly. Razor grabbed T-bone's hand as the tabby flew by and locked the glove, making the hook and rope the only link keeping them from being devoured. The Pastmaster emerged from his hiding place, a large wicked smile on his skeletal face.

" You pathetic mortals have been a thorn in my side for far too long." He hissed. " You went to the past before, so think of it as a mini vacation."

" Sorry! We don't take vacations from this job!!" Razor barked. " T-bone! Can you reach the rope?" T-bone looked up and reached for the rope, feeling it with the tips of his fingers.

" I think so." T-bone replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Blaze moved quickly through the passages T-bone and Razor had made. It had been too long since their last transmission, when he had lead Manx and Callie out of the building.

" They told me to meet with them anyways." Blaze said to himself. " This is great, my second villain bust." Blaze entered a new room and saw the next entrance, but also notice something weird. There was bright violet light flashing in the next room, as if someone had set up a filtered strobe light.

" What?" Blaze questioned as he wondered to it. The red kat poked his head in through the hole, and his jaw dropped when he saw T-bone and Razor being sucked into a purple black hole.

" T-bone! Razor!!" Blaze shouted as he leapt in. The young SWAT Kat spotted the Pastmaster and froze. The Pastmaster charged energy into his pocket watch and fired it at the case the grappling hook was secured on, knocking it apart and breaking the kat's foothold in this time.

" NOO!!!" Blaze cried as he ran towards the flailing hook. The masked red kat reached out with his paw and caught the hook, now acting as the new foothold.

" Blaze! Don't let go!!" T-bone shouted from within the vortex. " We're gonna climb out, so hold on!!"

" Rodger!!" Blaze shouted back, shifting his feet to get a better stance. T-bone reached for the rope and grasped it securely while Razor stared at Blaze with confusion.

_This thing was strong enough to pull T-bone and me off the ground. _ He thought. _But Blaze's standing there as if nothing's happening!_

" I wont let some whelp ruin my revenge!!!" The Pastmaster shouted at the top of his lounges as energy began to amass in his watch again. The Pastmaster then thrust the watch in Blaze's direction, firing a bolt of purple lighting. The lightning crashed into Blaze and sent him reeling into the air, as well as slicing through the rope. Razor and T-bone felt the rope go slack and opened their mouths wide as the portal devoured them.

" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" They screamed as they fell into the portal. There was a bright flash of light and the portal started to close quickly. Blaze's became regained his baring and looked in fear. His heart felt as if someone had just smashed it with a hammer and his stomach turned over and over in his body.

" T-BONE!! RAZOR!! NOOOO!!!!" He screamed as the portal closed, fading into nothingness.


	9. Chapter 8

Note from the Author: Time for another amazing update for the SKT series. I'm still working on updating sooner. I think I'm doing better than before. Well, there's the update. Please enjoy and remember to review.

Chapter 8

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Bombay

Havanna ran down the alleyway quickly, panting softly as her feet sprinted along the earth. Her black cloak flapped in the air as she moved, yet still hid her form. However, that was not a good think at this moment.

" Down here! I saw him go this way!!" A gruff male voice sounded from far behind her.

" Follow him then!" A female voice returned. " Don't let the stranger escape!!"

_My, how word travel fast._ Havanna thought as she hastened her movements. _ Although, it should be expected. That light was not the subtlest event in the world._ She cursed her luck. When people saw the light and the pillar disappear, panic arose. Mobs were quickly set up and people were sent out to scout the area. The princess, however, was unlucky enough to be discovered by one. The speed she was running became too great for her to continued and she fell, tumbling on the ground before stopping.

" Ah." She groaned, the pain in her knees and arms pounding greatly. The sound of footsteps behind her grew louder as the scouts came closer.

_If I let them see me, then they'll take me back to the palace._ The princess thought as she stood up slowly. _Yet if I don't, I might not live long enough for my father lecture me._ Havanna decided to go with the latter choice and continued to run briskly across the alleyways. Her heart was pounding against her chest as she moved, and her once slow breathing had turned into a pant. As the sounds of shouting and running grew louder behind her, Havanna noticed something. Up ahead, within the right stonewall, was an opening. From the distance she was at, she could see that it was large enough to hide her, yet small enough not to be noticed, if she was lucky. Havanna decided to take her chances and quickly changed course for the hiding spot. When she slowed to a stop in front of it, the princess crouched down on all fours and crawled quickly into the small opening. Havanna curled up inside, like a rabbit in its burrow. The sounds became clear, and the Bombay princess could hear the words of the two scouts that had chased her.

" Where did he go?!" One with a gruff voice growled.

" I spotted them going down this path." Another voice, male as well, but with a more relaxed voice, answered. " And this is only a single passage."

" Are you certain your eyes did not deceive you?"

" I swear by the heavens."

There was a soft silence between the two, until she heard the first speaker let out a grunt in anger.

" Very well, they must still be down this path." The first speaker remarked. " We must catch them. If this stranger is the one who stole our precious pillar, they shall be made to pay."

" I agree completely." The second speaker replied. Havanna heard footsteps and saw the two's clawed feet run quickly past the spot where she was hiding. She waited till there was complete silence before slowly emerging from her sanctuary. She looked in both directions and her ears twitched in anticipation. When the coast was clear, she completely came out and stood up.

_Oh Haru, what have I gotten myself into?_ She thought with a worried expression as she dusted the dirt off of her pitch-black cloak. Havanna gazed up to the stars, wondering if the great deity was truly watching her.

_There is only one way to truly find out._ She thought. Havanna went down to one knee and put her paws together. The princess bowed her to her hands, and began to pray.

" Oh holy Haru Kantose, guardian of my beloved kingdom." She began. " I beg of you to aid me and my people in this hour of need. Give us guidance and wisdom, enough to lead my people to the gift you left us, the gift I was named after. I beg of you! Help us!" Havanna's ears shot up when she heard something. The loud sound of thunder shook her eardrums and made her stand erect. She turned her eyes to the sky and saw that dark purple clouds had began to amass, right over the area of the town square. Bolts of purple a violet lighting surged within the clouds, bustling and crackling as they jumped back and forth. Havanna's green eyes grey wide when she saw the supernatural event unravel before her.

_This is so familiar._ Havanna thought. _Could..could it truly be?"_

Meanwhile, the storm flashed and flared over the now empty area of the town square. Anyone who gave it a quick glance could tell it was a storm, but for those who actually looked, they would be able to see the small whole in the center of the clouds. Lightning flashed and two kats fell from the center. T-bone and Razor cried at the top of their lounges as gravity hurled them to the ground. The two landed with a hard " THUD!" on the earth.

" Ohhhh!" Razor moaned.

" Why cant we ever go first class?" T-bone groaned as he picked himself up. Razor slowly moved to his feet and looked to the sky. He saw the storm that had brought them to the new era shrink and shrink until it imploded in on itself, disappearing. The nighttime sky was glittering with bright stars and the full moon shined a golden hue above them.

" Wow, time sure fly when you're thrown through it." Razor joked. " But at least the sky's nice tonight."

" Who the hell cares about the sky!!??" T-bone growled. " We were just thrown back to god knows when, we don't have our jet, and we left the kid to deal with that undead maniac all by himself!!!!"

" Calm down Hotshot." Razor advised with a cool tone. " I'm just as worried as you, but panicking isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to find out where we are first of all." T-bone kept his teeth bare but backed off. The tabby scanned the area with his eyes, but nothing popped out at him.

" Well I don't have a clue." He grumbled.

" I do." Razor informed, pointing to the ground. T-bone glance down and noticed he and Razor were standing on a symbol shaped like a winged sun with a crescent moon within it. The answer dawned on T-bone.

" We're in Bombay!" Both of them said at the same time.

" Great, just great!" T-bone remarked. " Should have figured this out. A exhibit to the city itself."

" The kid would have a field day here." The masked ginger kat smirked. " Maybe they have a magician like Megalith City did."

" Maybe we could go visit Callista?" T-bone figured. " She knows us and knows how to send us back to our time period. I'd be easier." Razor nodded in agreement, but noticed something.

" That was a pretty loud storm T-bone." Razor stated. " We should have drawn some attention, but no one's here."

" Well, there's a light over there." T-bone pointed out. He pointed a clawed finger at the rooftops of the city, revealing that a golden light was heading towards the center of the city. The hairs on Razor's neck, as well as hit tail, started to stand up strait as his sixth sense screamed " Danger!!" in his mind.

" Uh T-bone, I don't think that's a good thing." The masked ginger kat stated.

" Yeah, I'm with you there." T-bone agreed, having the same symptoms. The light came into the town square, and revealed its source. Before them was a large crowd of kats of all ages and genders. They wore clean white togas that covered them, The men's covering their lower half's completely and half their upper body, looping over the left shoulder, while the women's covered their body's completely except for their head and right arm. Some carried flaming torches; the source of the light, while others carried pitchforks and axes to act as weapons.

" SINCE WHEN DID THEY HAVE MOBS IN ROME!!!??" T-bone exclaimed.

" Since it began." Razor answered. " Jeez, did you ever take history?"

" Yeah, but the allure of comics kinda distracted me." T-bone responded. Razor shook his head, until the talking of the mob took his attention.

" LOOK!! They must be the ones!!" A tall tom in front shouted.

" Yes. Just look at their outlandish cloths!!" A blond haired she-kat agreed.

" We don't know that for sure." An elder kat replied.

" We'll capture them and question." A younger kat responded.

" And if they are guilt, we'll hang them!!" The first speaker shouted. T-bone and Razor decided simultaneously not to stick around. The two masked toms bolted for the street ways, running as fast as their feet could move.

" What did we do?!" T-bone questioned. " We just blew into town."

" Whatever it is, you wanna stay and ask?!" Razor returned. The ginger kat looked back and saw the crowd was chasing after them, shouting and roaring as they followed. He then looked to his glove and sighed.

" I really hate to do this." Razor said as he looked back and pointed his Glovatrix at the mob. " But I'd rather not die." He pressed a button on the Glovatrix and fired a smoke bomb. The bomb hit before the mob and exploded, covering the crowd in a black haze. The kats coughed and hacked as the smoke infiltrated their lungs and irritated their senses. T-bone looked to Razor as they ran, seeing he was looking really downcast.

" Don't like to use weapons on civilians, right bud?"

" Yeah." Razor replied. " It'll give us some time, but not much." The two continued to run, taking going from street to street in hopes to try and prevent their followers from finding them. When the two were done, they hid out in a small narrow alleyway. Razor fell back onto one of the brick walls, huffing and panting as he tried to catch his breath. T-bone was sitting on the ground next to him, doing the same.

" Man, I really hate the past." T-bone groaned.

" Me too." Razor agreed. " We need to figure out a way back."

" How do you suggest we do that!?" T-bone responded. " We don't have a portal, we're in a different time period, and we don't even have the Turbokat. All we have are the Glovatrixs."

" Maybe this place has a sorcerer too." Razor figured. " Kinda like Callista. If we find them, we might be able to get back home."

" One problem buddy, we'd kinda stick out like sore thumbs here." The blond tabby stated. " And even if we do find a way to blend in, we'd look pretty suspicious if we go around asking about a magician." Razor sighed and shook his head slowly.

" Your right." The ginger kat replied. " I guess what we should concentrate on now is to find a place to stay. Then we can try and figure out how to get home."

" And get back to Blaze." T-bone added. The blond tabby looked to the brightly lit sky and sighed. " I hope the kid's doing ok."

" He'll be fine Chance." Razor responded. " I mean, he probably wont be stupid enough to fight the Pastmaster on his own."

" I know, I know." T-bone smirked. " But if anything happened to him, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Razor couldn't help but smile at the burly kat.

" You're a good guy, you know T-bone." The ginger kat informed.

" You're just noticing this now?" T-bone smirked, standing up and giving Razor a playful punch on the shoulder. Suddenly, a noise alerted them, making the ears of both toms shoot up. T-bone and Razor wheeled around to see a strange figure wrapped in a black cloak. The hood hid their face while the rest of the cloth hid the figure of the stranger's body. Havanna, under the cloak, looked at the two strange toms. They wore odd clothing, and spoke in such a strange manner.

_How peculiar? _Havanna questioned as she examined them. _ What odd clothing, and what form of gauntlet are they wearing? Is it a more advanced model? _

T-bone and razor stood still, ready to run, when they noticed the stranger had not come with a huge bloodthirsty crowd behind them.

" T-bone, I think we should explain ourselves." Razor advised.

" What!? Are you crazy?" T-bone responded.

" Look, it's that only chance we have." The ginger kat explained. " They obviously don't see us as a threat, so lets talk and try and get some help." T-bone groaned and let out a soft " Oii" before he stepped towards the robed figure. Havanna noticed the movement and stepped back, not knowing if this stranger was friend of foe.

" Hey." T-bone greeted. " Don't worry, we don't want to cause any trouble. We just need some help." Havanna looked at him and returned to her previous position, curious as to what they had to say.

" Whatever's going on here, it's not our fault." Razor informed. " We'll try and clear our names, but that mob is hunting us down."

" Yeah, can you help us out?" T-bone asked. Havanna looked up, her hood still hiding her face from them.

_Should I help them?_ She questioned. _ They look nothing like the people from before. And I might get some answers if I help them. So, yes I shall._ Havanna looked to them and nodded, not saying a word.

" Sweet!" T-bone replied. " Then, can you help us get to somewhere safe?" Havanna gave this great thought for a moment, and then figured something out. She began to run down the alley, making a right into another connected passage.

" Come on, let's follow him." Razor insisted, going after the robed figure.

" Right behind you." The blond tabby responded. Razor followed into the passage the stranger had gone, and saw them waiting. The stranger pointed to show a hand-made latter reaching up to the ceiling of the house it was leaning on.

" Of course! We can go from roof to roof and avoid detection!" Razor figured. The robed stranger nodded to him and then began to climb the latter.

" I don't know about this bud." T-bone warned.

" What choice do we have?" Razor asked.

" None like always." T-bone sighed. When the Havanna reached the top of the roof, she motioned for T-bone and Razor to follow her. The two quickly responded, climbing up the latter and joining the disguised princess on the roof.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Present: Megakat Museum of History

Blaze punched the ground under him as tears fell freely from his eyes.

_Guys, I failed you._ He thought, his eyes closed. _ I failed you! I couldn't save you. I…I'm worthless!_ The red kat's eyes shot open when he heard a piercing laugh. Blaze looked over and saw the Pastmaster, cackling greatly.

" They're gone!! Those meddling SWAT Kats are gone!!!" The Pastmaster cheered, leaping up and down with unbridled joy. " After all those battles, after all those humiliating defeats, I have finally rid myself of those pests for…!"

" SHUT UP!!" Blaze roared, making the Pastmaster jump. Blaze's dark red fur was on end and his sharp white teeth were gleaming menacingly. It could clearly be concluded that he was extremely livid.

" You dare order me around! What gull!" The Pastmaster retorted.  
" I SAID SHUT UP!!" Blaze roared again. " You took away my friends and you dare to celebrate?! Bring them back now!!" The Pastmaster was even more shocked by this.

" I don't take orders from mortals, or anyone else." He scowled, pointing his pocket watch at Blaze. Purple lightning blasted out of the watch and struck Blaze, knocking him into the wall behind him. However, to his surprise, Blaze stood back up. The red kat looked strait in his eye, and the Pastmaster could see a burning rage pulsing within it. Suddenly, Blaze rushed at the orange skeletal kat with amazing speed, catching him off guard. The red kat grabbed him by the collar and held him up, making the Pastmaster hang in the air.

" You miserable mortal!" The troll scowled, charging energy in his watch. But Blaze's paw shot out and grabbed the wrist of the Pastmaster, slowly crushing it.

" Bring them back, or I'll break your arm!" He threatened, staring the Pastmaster strait in the eye. At that moment, the Pastmaster sensed something stirring within the red kat. It was a strange energy, yet so familiar to the skeleton.

_Where have I felt this before?_ He thought. Blaze squeezed harder on the wrist bone, making small popping sounds at he did. The Pastmaster screamed loudly as he felt the bones begin to snap and break.

" Let me go! Let me go!!" He begged. " I'll bring them back! I'll bring them back!"

" I don't believe you." Blaze growled in a dark tone. " Maybe I should snap your arm in half, just to see if you are serious?"

" No!! Don't!" The Pastmaster begged. Blaze continued the action, squeezing the arm more and more. The sounds became more frequent and louder.

" AHHHH!!" The Pastmaster screamed. " I will do it! I'll bring them back to this time! Just let me go!" Suddenly, a noise alerted the two and snapped Blaze out of his mood.

" Pastmaster!! Surrender Now!!" Feral's voice boomed over a megaphone. The Pastmaster saw how distracted the red kat was and knew he had a chance. Purple energy charged in his watch and fired out into Blaze, blasting him back and freeing the time wizard.

" You pathetic mortal!" The Pastmaster growled as he looked at the red kat. " You threatened to harm me and nearly did so. I should reduce you to a heap of ashes right now. But those weak Enforcers are coming and I'd rather not have to deal with such annoyances. Blaze got up slowly, his fur still smoking a bit from the blast.

" Where..Do you think..Your going?!" Blaze growled. " I..I wont give up until you bring them back." The orange skeleton smirked as he fired more energy. This time, making a portal above himself.

" Those fools will never return!" he announced. " I have taken measures to insure that. You might as well give up now. For soon, I will have more power than the great council ever did!" The Pastmaster's portal lifted the Pastmaster into itself and devoured him. There was a bright flash of lightning and the portal vanished, the magician vanishing with it.

"GRRR!" Blaze growled, smashing his fist in the ground again. " That slime ball! I'll find him and..!"

" Sir, I think I heard something over here." A voice sounded.

" Let's see then." Another voice continued.

_Oh Crud! The Enforcers!_ Blaze thought as he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. The red kat quickly hid against the wall, flattening himself against it to keep himself hidden. On cue, two Enforcer Solders appeared in the circle entrance. The two looked in, but saw nothing.

"What the heck happened in here!?" One of the soldiers, a grey furred one, questioned.

" No clue." The other soldier, a black furred one, answered. " Of course, you never know what the Pastmaster can do." Suddenly, Blaze leapt from the corner and jumped between the two Enforcers, passing them and breaking for the roof entrance. The two Enforcers looked back and saw Blaze racing away.

" Who the hell!?" The orange enforcer exclaimed. The black furred Enforcer began to chase after Blaze, trying to catch him.

" Freeze! You're under arrest!!" The Enforcer shouted. Blaze looked back and saw the Enforcer.

_I really REALLY hate to do this._ Blaze thought as he quickly eyed his Glovatrix. The SWAT Kat pointed the glove back and fired a bola. The bola flew and wrapped around the Enforcer, tying him up. The red kat continued down the makeshift entrances until he had arrived at the stair doorway. He huffed and panted softly, still feeling the drain from the chase.

_I let them down. They would be here if I were stronger. _Blaze thought._ I failed them, I FAILED THEM!!!_ He punched the wall hard, waves of fury and hatred flowing though him. But when he thought back on how he reacted to it the event, the hatred was replaced with concern and disappointment. He lost his cool and nearly broke the Pastmaster's boney arm in half.

_If it were Razor or even T-bone, they would have been calmer about it. _The red kat thought.

" Where is that guy!" A familiar voice sounded.

" He tied you up good." The next voice said.

" Oh crud, it's those Enforcer goons." Blaze whispered. He opened the door to the stairwell and began to climb quickly, not even looking down to see if he was being followed. When he reached the roof, the red kat saw the Turbokat and sighed.

" I guess I have to fly out of here." He groaned. " But I never flew the real thing. But T-bone would be pissed if the Enforcers got it." Blaze slowly walked to the jet and pressed a button on the Glovatrix. The canopy of the jet slid open and Blaze leapt in. He seated himself comfortably in T-bone's seat and gazed down on the controls. He breathed in and out slowly as he scanned the controls.

" Ok, no problem. I've been in the simulator before, and the controls should be the same." He said, starting up the engines. The jet began to edge forward slowly, picking up speed faster and faster. Before Blaze knew it, he was at the edge of the museum. Blaze pulled up on the controls and flew up, soaring into the sky. He continued to gather altitude, going strait up into the sky.

" This thing's are far more sensitive than the simulator led me to believe." Blaze moaned. He pushed do to level out, but when into a dive instead, falling towards the streets.

" AHHH!!" The red kat screamed, pulling up on the controls before hitting traffic. He shifted and leveled the jet out, soaring strait in the air. Blaze was wide eyed, watching his surroundings. He continued towards the salvage yard, retaining the same speed and altitude, not daring to change a thing and run into a building.


	10. Chapter 9

Note from the Author: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait. I guess I broke my good run of an update a week. But, that's life I suppose. Things happen, people make complicated plans; others hinder them and make the whole time difficult, that sort of thing. Well, at least I updated now. Once again, I'd like to thank my loyal readers for putting up with me. I'd also like to thank Etherweil, Smeesnoops, Wyvern, Hotaru, and Hackerkat, who encourage me to continue writing and whose kind words make me smile. Please enjoy and don't forget to review.

Chapter 9

Salvage Yard

The Turbokat approached the Salvage Yard smoothly. Blaze turned his eyes away and scanned the control console, looking for the runway switch. Quickly finding the button, he pressed it and watched as a section of earth in the yard slide back to reveal the hidden runway.

_Nice and easy. Nice and easy_. Blaze reminded himself over and over in his mind as he gently pushed down on the controls, making the aircraft lower slowly towards the Hangar. The red kat flipped on the landing gear and heard the tires hit the ground as he landed on the runway. Giving himself enough space, the Turbokat landed softly on the platform. The metal platform raised itself up to the Hangar, slowing to a stop. The canopy slid open quietly and Blaze leapt out, landing on the floor on his feet in a crouch. The red kat, with a down cast face, quickly changed out of his G-suit and back into his normal blue overalls. He looked around and the eerie silence of the place struck him.

_It's like a graveyard here._ Tai thought. _Chance by now would brag about his flying and then Jake would shut him up by pointing out all the close calls he made._

The red kat made a small smirk from the memory, but it quickly vanished from his face. Reality kept hitting him like a ton of bricks, reminding him over and over that the toms he thought of friends were gone, and most likely never to return. With his eyes to the floor, he walked across the cold steel floor to the latter and climbed, pushing open the secret hatch to the hallway closet and entering the house. The sound of the hatch closing was the only noise besides Tai's shoes hitting the floor.

"It's even more silent here." Tai stated to himself in a sad tone. As he went into the living room, he noticed the time on the VCR and felt even more sadness eat away at him.

"Scardy Kat's on. Chance and I would watch it every day." Tai continued, the despair building up in him more and more till his voice began to break. ""Jake would moan and go to the Hangar to work every day. I even remember that one time when Chance thought it was fun to pounce on me and pin me to the ground with his weight. Man, that..that..tha.."

Tai could no longer continue. Tears had formed in his eyes and, against his will, began to fall to the soft carpet under his shoes.

"No! I'm.I'm not going to cry! I'm not a little kitty! I'm not..not..not gonna. CRY!!" Tai put his paws to his face and cried loudly at the loss of his comrades. The salty tears dripped though the space between his fingers and dripped on the floor, making the carpet wet and squishy.

" 'Keep it up kid, you're getting stronger.' BULLSHIT I AM!!" Tai cried out. "I'm as weak as when I began. No, I'm weaker! If only I held on a little longer. If only I was able to endure that lightning, we would have caught that little troll and came home. COME HOME TOGETHER!!"

The red kat threw himself onto the couch and continued to cry softly. After a few minutes, the sadness was drained from his body, though tears still hung on his eyes. He sniffled and pulled his paws away from his eyes. The thought still lingered in his mind, but he was able to stand it more. Then, a thought came to his mind.

"That gnome used magic." The red kat stated. "If he used magic, then there might be a way. Everything has an opposite, something that can undo the other. There could be a way!!"

Tai looked up to the ceiling, feeling courage and hope swell up inside him. Even if it was false hope, he couldn't care less.

"I need to find out everything I can about that guy before I confront him again." Tai said. "News articles, files, everything! Jake has a database on the computer downstairs. I can look up the Pastmaster's files and try to piece together where he's going. Like they say. 'The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.' I just have to find the pattern."

With that, Tai started back for the Hangar, his will and determination stronger now than it had ever been.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Bombay

"I don't know Razor, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this." T-bone warned.

"Look T-bone, it's either this or get ripped to pieces by that mob chasing us." Razor responded, glancing over to the robed figure afterwards. "Besides, this person probably knows more about this area than we do. If we try to go around on our own, we'll get caught for sure." T-bone gave the ginger kat a stern looked, but conceded to the tom's logic, knowing that he was right, as usual. While the two discussed what to do in the situation, Havanna, under the cloak, gazed out on the city. She knew well that being out in the open, even in an alleyway, was not a good idea. If she were caught, she'd be taken back to the palace, to a furious father. But if she were caught with these two outsiders, she'd be even more in trouble. Even in Bombay, the royal family members were not exempt from treason, and the punishments for such things made her sick just thinking about them.

_I must get them to safety_. Havanna thought as she gazed over the great kingdom, searching rooftop to rooftop. _These two are either allied with that monster, or are the ones he meant to trap. But one or the other, I will be able to find out something about the theft of the pillar._

As she looked over the rooftop, she spotted their destination. Even thought she had never really been though the town on her own, she knew that this was the safest place in the whole city to hide the outsiders. Havanna turned to the two toms and went to speak, but was still undecided about their alliance.

_I have no choice._ She thought, looking over to the next home. Razor noticed the stranger's movements and knew something was up.

"T-bone." He alerted.

"What?" T-bone questioned, looking where Razor was looking. The cloaked stranger backed up a little, and then shot out into a fast run. Just before she got to the edge of the building, Havanna leapt into the air, jumping over the space between the two houses. Havanna landed on her feet in a crouch and stood up.

"Go from house to house to avoid the mobs on the ground." Razor figured. "Pretty smart."

"Yeah. I still don't know, but what the hell." T-bone replied. The cloaked figure gave them a follow me sign just before they started a new run.

"Lets go!" Razor urged, running and leaping. T-bone, reluctantly, followed the two. The group leapt from home to home, following the stranger that had saved their lives. Razor kept his eyes on the stranger, analyzing everything about the movements he (or she) made. The ginger kat's eyes glanced over the city to try and see the direction of where they were going.

_I hope I'm right about this._ He thought. _But, it's kinda funny a girl's leading us._

T-bone, in the mean time, looked back and saw two people in the streets glancing up at them. He froze when he saw the two lock onto his eyes. One was a grey female while the other was a brown male.

_Oh crud! _T-bone thought.

The female screamed.

Razor and the stranger looked back to see they had been spotted. Razor's eyes caught the light from the torches and could see they had changed course towards them.

"T-bone!! Ignore them and lets go!!" the ginger kat said.

"R..Right!" T-bone replied, going towards them. Havanna started running, increasing the

pace of the journey. The three kats leapt from rooftop to rooftop as the mobs began to go

in their general direction. Havanna looked back to the two as they reached a tall home,

not paying attention to where her feet were. The folds of her cloak fell under feet as she

ran, making her tumble forward. She landed on the roof with an "Oomph!" and then

began tumble towards the edge of the roof.

"WHOA!!!" Razor shouted in response, running to the fallen stranger. With a blur of fur, T-bone dashed past Razor to the one in danger.

"I got em!!" He said.

Havanna reached the end of the roof and fell. She opened her mouth to scream, anticipating the pain that was to come, when something grabbed her paw. She hung in the air, hovering just above the point where she would have fallen.

_I'm not dead._ She thought with a joyful smile. _But, I should have fallen. What stopped me?_

"Don't worry bud, I gotcha." A voice said over her head. Havanna looked up to see the more muscular of the toms was crouched down of the roof top, one paw pushing up to support himself while the other gripped her paw tightly.

_He..He saved me!_ She thought as she looked up at him. She was now able to look at him more closely than before. He had neatly groomed blond fur with two sets black whiskers under his brown nose. He seemed a bit chubbier than what was normal, but it was ok. His gleaming white teeth were drawn in a bold smile and Havanna could see crystal blue eyes under his mask.

_He seems...rather charming._ Havanna thought with a smile. Suddenly, a strange feeling began to sweep over her. In that one moment, she began to feel lighter, as if gravity had no power over her. Her heart was beating heavily against her chest while gentle warmth began to spread through her body.

_What's this feeling?_ She questioned. _It feels so new and strange._

"Up you go!" The blond tabby said as he pulled the she-kat up, still oblivious to who she was. He seemed to pull her up quite easily and placed her back on the roof. Havanna's heart began to slow down again as the adrenalin from the recent events calmed down.

"You ok buddy?" T-bone asked. Havanna kept herself silent and nodded. She turned away and looked around. They were very close to their destination. She began to run and leapt to the next roof.

"What was that!? Not even a thank you." T-bone grumbled.

"What did you expect pal? You should be use to it." Razor chuckled at his side.

"Yeah yeah." The burly tom responded.

The two continued to follow the stranger, not knowing where he (or she) would lead them. Havanna got to a home that was low to the ground and leapt off, landing onto the earth with ease. She turned around and saw T-bone and Razor jump and land in front of her.

"So, is this where we're suppose to be?" T-bone questioned as he looked around. He noticed Razor staring and looked in that direction, to see a large church before them. It was built tall and grand, made of what looked like white marble. It towered above them with stained glass windows filtering the light of the full moon.

"Whoa." The tabby whispered.

"Man, this is like the Notre Dam of the ancient world!" Razor added. The stranger turned about and continued towards the church, the black cloak sweeping the ground as they walked.

"Why would he bring us to a church?" T-bone questioned.

"Well, maybe they think we'll be safe." Razor replied. The two followed behind the cloaked figure to the doors of the church. As Havanna reached for the arcadia doors, T-bone went ahead of her and grabbed the handle.

"I'll get it." He said as he opened the door.

THWACK!!!

The blond tabby fell backwards onto the ground.

"T-bone!" Razor exclaimed. " What happened?"

"I don't know. Something hit me square in the nose." T-bone answered, rubbing his nose with his paw. Out of the church stepped an old kat. He had a blueish-gray coat and bright green eyes. Around him was the thick white robe of the clergy and in his hands was a tough wooden cane.

"Go away!! You outsiders aren't welcome here!!" he bellowed.

"Hey look! We…" Razor began.

" Silence!!" the old kat interrupted, swinging his cane at the ginger kat. But at the last second, the cloaked stranger went in front and intercepted the hit. In anger, the old kat marched forward and grabbed the cloak hood, pulling it up just enough to see who was inside it.

"OH DEAR LORD!!" he cried, dropping the wooden weapon. Razor helped T-bone get to his feet, and the two saw the old kat drop to his knees.

"Forgive me! Forgive me your grace! I did not know it was you." He sobbed, grabbing the stranger's hand. The old kat got to his feet, keeping his paw on hers. "It is not safe to be outside. Come, come in."

"You know what's going on?" T-bone asked his partner.

"Not a clue." Razor answered.

The old kat lead the three into the church. They saw row after row of wooden benches in the main room in the church, with a platform at the far end for the speaker. Razor spotted at the platform two doors leading into a different room, and the beginning of a staircase. The old kat kept his eyes on the stranger's, not taking them off for a moment.

"I apologize with all my heart. I didn't know it was you. And when I saw these outsiders…"

"Hey! This dude saved us." T-bone barked. Razor shot up, now realizing that T-bone didn't know.

"Uh, T-bone." He said in a shy manner.

"What?!" T-bone replied.

"Well, for one thing, that's not a..." Razor began.

"I apologize to you for the rude reception you have received." Havanna said in a nice clear voice. T-bone looked at the cloaked figure in surprise, now realizing it was a woman. Havanna neatly undid the binds of her cloak and let it fall. T-bone and Razor watched as the dark veil fell, revealing a beautiful young she-kat. Her yellow-tan fur seemed to glow even in the faint light from the moon. Havanna's long brown hair fell to her waist and her bright green eyes met those of the SWAT Kats. The white dress decorated with diamonds seemed to accentuate her beauty, making her presence even more divine.

"Oh man." T-bone whispered in awe.

"Wow." Razor whispered as well.

"Though may I ask, who is this 'Dude' of which you speak?" The Bombay princess asked in a polite, sweet voice. T-bone and Razor were still stricken by how she looked.

"Answer her you cretins!" The old kat barked.

"Hey!! Watch it buddy!!" T-bone snapped back. The burly tabby looked over to the majestic she-kat, giving her the bold smile. "No one ma'am, just something we say where we come from."

"So, you are outsiders." Havanna said. She went down into a curtsy, proper and courteous. "Then I welcome you to our fair city in the honor of the holy family."

"Thanks." Razor replied. "What do you mean, 'Holy Family'?"

The old kat and Havanna gave them a strange look.

"You fools!! You don't even realize who you are conversing with!" the old kat said. "This is Bombay's maiden of light, height of our monarchs, and beauty known though out the land. She is Havanna Alexandria Bombayose, Princess of Bombay!!"

"Princess!!" T-bone and Razor exclaimed. Havanna gave a slight smile and let out a little giggle.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." She responded. "As I have said before, I apologize for the welcoming our citizens have given you. It is not right to persecute someone before his or her case is heard. Please, if there is anything I can…"

"Don't worry about it Havanna." T-bone replied with a smile.

"Don't address the princess so formally young tom." The old kat warned.

"Father Nore!" Havanna responded. "These two are guests to our kingdom and have been given the worst treatment possible. Our towns rely on outsiders to help fund themselves. All people are welcome here."

"Forgive me milady, but I do not suggest we trust them." Father Nore advised.

"Look, we really don't want to cause any trouble." Razor informed. "We just don't want to be butchered by those mobs either."

"Then you should stay here." The she-kat suggested. "This temple is the safest place there is in the city other than the palace. And even then, the guards would most likely arrest you for seemingly trespassing on the castle grounds. Plus, my father would not approve of it. I'm afraid our city tends to be rather violent when times of crises appear."

"Stay here!!" Father Nore exclaimed.

"Please father, they have no other place to go." The Bombay princess returned.

"No. I will not allow it." The old kat said.

"Father, they are good people." Havanna insisted. She glanced over to T-bone and felt her heart began to beat fast in her chest. "Besides, this one saved my life."

Father Nore's eyes grew wide with surprise as he looked to the strange outsider tabby. "He saved you?"

"Yes, I would have been dead by now if it were not for him. I own him my life, so I shall protect his."

Father Nore sighed and glanced at the two toms. He scanned the two kats, capturing every single detail in memory. Gazing at their eyes, he tried to get a feel of their aura. The old kat gave another sigh and looked to the Bombay princess.

"I do not sense any evil intent within them my dear." He said. " So, I shall trust them for now and grant them holy sanctuary."

"Oh thank you father." Havanna replied in a happy tone, embracing the elder kat.

"See, we found a safe place." Razor said in a matter-o-fact tone.

"Yeah yeah, shut up." T-bone replied. Havanna glanced over to the moon, seeing it was very high from the brightness of the stained glass windows. She went to her cloak and put it back on, hiding her form.

"I must return home." She informed. "I shall see you two tomorrow for the sermon. Please sleep well."

"Sleep tight princess." T-bone bade.

"See ya." Razor replied. Havanna turned away and walked away towards the doors, but she stopped and turned back, looking strait at T-bone.

"Thank you sir, for saving my life." The Bombay princess thanked. "I am truly in your debt."

"Hey, don't worry bout it." The tom replied. "Saving damsels in distress is what I do for a livin."

Havanna gave him a warm smiled and turned back to her path home. As she went away, T-bone watched her. His eyes rested upon the she-kat, and his heart began to beat faster in his chest. Every sense within him seemed to fill with energy, sending a warm spell through out his body.

_She's so beautiful and sweet._ The burly tabby thought with a glazed look. _ I just might enjoy my time here after all. Could be a learning experience._


	11. Chapter 10

Note from the Author: Sorry for the wait guys. Well, things have been really slow on the forum. Hopefully, I'll be able to work more over the winter break to help liven things up on the Fanfic threads. I'd like to thank Etherweil and Smeesnoops, who help me often with their comments. Well, happy readings and don't forget to review.

Chapter 10

Bombay: Temple

"Come, I'll show you to your rooms." Father Nore announced with a scowl as he walked down the wooden aisle. The Russian blue kat continued to the alter and looked back to see T-bone and Razor still marveling at the structure and build of the ancient church.

"This is so amazing." Razor said. "We're probably the only ones to ever see the inside of a Bombay church."

"Big deal, it's just a building." T-bone responded. Razor glanced at the tabby and gave him a poisonous look.

"Just a building!! T-bone, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you're just…" Razor began.

"What are you two babbling on about!?" Father Nore interrupted rudely. "The temple has always been open to the public. There is even going to be a sermon tomorrow. How could you have never seen it?!"

The two SWAT Kats looked at each other, waiting for the other to answer.

"Well, we're from a place very far away." Razor informed.

"Yeah, six or seven centuries from now." T-bone muttered under his breath. Nore luckily didn't pick up what T-bone said.

"I can tell you are from another place from you clothes." The priest informed. "The princess wants you safe, so I will provide you with fresh clothing in the morning. Now, are you or are you not going to follow me!?"

"Alright alright, yesh!" T-bone retorted, walking down the aisle with Razor to the priest. Lighting a candle, Father Nore lead the two up the stairs. They passed through many floors, seeing dinning rooms and primitive kitchens along the way. When they reached the top of the stairs, the found two piles of straw with fresh covers over them. The room was bare and empty, except for the beds and a circular stained glass window, which filtered the light of the moon and gave the room a colored glow.

"Jeez, not even a real bed." T-bone groaned.

"This is for the weary travelers who ask for shelter in the church." Father Nore informed. "Most do not make it a plan to stay long. You two, however, may change that."

Razor bore his teeth for a moment before returning to normal. "Well, at least it's a place to sleep."

T-bone strolled forward to the first bed and plopped down on it. It was surprisingly warm and comfortable. He crossed his thick arms behind his head and used them as a pillow.

"This might not be so bad." The tabby grinned. Razor strolled to the other bed and fell onto it, feeling the same way T-bone did.

"As I said, tomorrow morning is the sermon." Father Nore informed. "I will bring you fresh clothing so you will blend in, but you must help me prepare for the event. I will be waking you early, so be prepared."

"Alright. We'll help out." Razor responded. The priest nodded and descended the stairs, muttering softly under his breath how the royal family owes him. There was a dead silence in the bedroom, neither tom talking.

"So, what do you think of the place?" Razor asked, breaking the silence.

" It not bad." T-bone returned. "Other than the bloodthirsty mobs trying to kill us, it's pretty peaceful. The girls are good here too."

"Yeah? Well don't go getting a stud's tail while we're here." Razor warned. "We just need to find someone who can transport us back to our own time, or maybe try to get to Megalith City so we can have Queen Callista do it."

"Oh, you want to meet your queen and be the warrior who pulled out the Dragon Sword again." T-bone teased.

"Hey! Not funny!!" Razor retorted.

" Yeah, I remember it." The burly tom continued. " _Good night my queen._ Ha!"

"Now that's the pot calling the kettle black." Razor replied. "You pretty much went brain dead when the princess showed herself, and you thought she was a guy."

"Hey!! How was I suppose to know? She was under a cloak!" The burly tabby growled. "Give me a break!"

"You're the lady's kat, you should know how a girl walks." The ginger kat insisted.

"I was just caught off guard."

"Yeah right." Razor smirked. T-bone bore his teeth at the ginger kat and revealed his claws, but retracted them a moment later, deciding to let it go.

"Well, it's no time to go cruising for girls anyways." He said, rolling around so his back was to his partner. "We need to get back and help the kid. He's probably worried sick about us."

"I know." The ginger tom replied. "I'm worried about him too. He's apart of the family after all."

"Yeah." T-bone agreed. "Well, night buddy."

"Night."

T-bone curled up into a ball, tail between his legs. He rested his head on his arms and slowed his breathing. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep quickly. He began to dream, and started to snore in the process.

_So much for a good night's sleep_. Razor thought as he curled up as well, knowing he won't get a moment's rest.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Bombay: Royal Palace

Havanna briskly climbed up the vine-covered terrace. He body strained under the force of gravity as she continuously tried to reach the top.

_I must get out more._ Havanna thought as she reached the edge of her room window. Using all the strength she could muster, the she-kat pulled herself onto the opened window and fell into the room, hitting the floor. The Bombay princess let out a sigh of relief and began to undo her cloak, when the sound of heavy footsteps alerted her.

"Oh Haru." She sounded, covering her mouth from the word, since her people considered it a curse. Havanna quickly undid her cloak and tossed it on the floor just as the door opened a crack.

"Princess?" A deep voice said.

"Yes, come in!" Havanna replied. The door opened fully to reveal a tall dark chocolate colored tom. He was a tall kat with brilliant green eyes and a heavily muscled body. He wore the traditional roman armor and kept a strong blade at his side. Havanna knew him well, for he was the captain of the guards and often sparred against her father.

"Oh, hello Myson." Havanna greeted, giving a polite curtsy.

"Princess, where have you been?" Myson asked in a deep, strong, authoritative voice. "The prince of the Lynx kingdom arrived long ago. We have been searching every area of the castle for you."

"I..I..I got lost." Havanna lied.

"Lost, you grace?" Myson questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Even though I have lived here all my life, I do tend to get lost in the halls." The princess explained. "I came back here in hopes I could find someone to guild me. Thankfully, you've arrived." Myson gave her a questioning look, not knowing whether to believe her or not. He smiled at the princess.

"It would be an honor, your majesty." He said, giving Havanna a respectful low bow. Havanna out her hand out and Myson gently took it. He led the princess down the halls, not even bothered by the darkness of the castle.

"The king was worried about you." Myson informed. "With the uproar that has been happening, he has good merit."

"What's happening?" Havanna questioned, already knowing well what the situation was.

"The pillar who's name spawned yours has been taken." The knight informed. Havanna gave him a surprised look.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but it has happened. The king was naturally worried about your safety as well." Havanna gave him a confused look.

"Why would he worry about me?" She asked. Myson gave her a mischievous smirk for a moment.

"My lady, you are as great a treasure as the pillar." The knight answered. "You're known for your beauty everywhere, and you are the future of this kingdom. Should someone take and force marriage, they would be given the throne."

"Who would do such a horrible thing?" Havanna questioned again. Myson gave her a serious glance.

"There are many dangerous people out in the real world, my princess. But you have no reason to worry. My duty is to guard both you and your father."

As they continued down the halls, they could hear the voice of the king, shouting, "Where is she!? Where is she!?" Havanna knew she was in great trouble, but it didn't bother her. She helped save two people from death. Her mind traveled to the thought of the two, and stopped on the one that saved her. Her heart began to beat in her chest hard and she began to feel light.

_Why am I so fascinated with him?_ She thought as Myson opened the doors to the library. The two stepped in and saw the king pacing back and forth. When they entered, the lion stopped and stared at them.

"Myson, I would like to speak with my daughter alone." He ordered. Myson gave a small bow and turned away, leaving the two and closing the doors behind him. Havanna stepped forward keeping a foot between the two.

"Where have you been?" Falis asked with a growl.

"I got lost father." Havanna lied. "I'm very sorry."

"The prince and the queen had been here, waiting for you to come." The king continued. "I can't believe you are so irresponsible."

"I'm sorry father." Havanna apologized again.

"How are you going to be able to marry if…" He began.

"I DON'T WANT TO MARRY!!" Havanna shouted, her voice echoing in the massive room. Falis was shocked by his daughter's sudden outburst, as was Havanna.

"Havanna, you must marry." The kind responded. "I will not be around forever. My time will one day come when I join Haru Kantose in heaven, and I want to make sure that you and the kingdom are taken care of."

"By forcing me to marry that fool!" Havanna returned.

"You gave me no choice!" Falis shouted back. "You've rejected every royal we could come into contact with! I know that prince Chausie is less than perfect, but he may surprise you."

"He won't." The Bombay princess sighed. Falis became angry with his daughter's constant resistance and turned around, trying to calm himself.

"There is going to be a celebration." He announced.

"What?"

"There is going to be a celebration tomorrow in honor of their visit here." Falis clarified. "It shall take place in the castle and all are allowed to attend. You could spend some time with Chausie then. Who knows, you may find something in common."

Havanna instantly caught his plan. It wasn't that hard to see. She made a slight smile and began to go to the doors.

"Very well father." She returned. "Good night."

"Good night." Falis returned. Havanna quickly returned to her room and threw herself onto the bed, making a low growl in anger. She heard a knocked on her door only seconds after the sound.

"Who is it?" She asked softly, her head buried in her bed pillows.

"It is I priestess." Chantilly's voice answered.

"Come in." Havanna responded. The door opened with the nun entering the bedroom. The chocolate brown she-kat stared at the princess with a sad look.

"Come milady, don't be that way." She lectured. "You must not be selfish."

"I'M NOT BEING SELFISH!!" Havanna shouted back, scaring the nun. "I want to love someone! I want to marry the one I love! IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND? And father, he has to resort to such underhanded tactics to do so."

"Underhanded tactics, princess? What to you mean?"

"The whole reason he is throwing the celebration is if the prince proposes to me, I would have over half the kingdom watching me." Havanna informed. "It is the pressure."

"I don't believe he would do such a thing my dear." Chantilly consoled, moving to the bed and sitting down, placing a paw on Havanna's head in a comforting notion.

"When I become queen, I will break this cycle. But why must I have to suffer it?" The Bombay princess questioned.

"It might not be as grim as you think. You might love him."

Havanna glanced up to the nun. "Chantilly, what does it feel like, when you are in love?"

Chantilly smiled down at the princess. "It is almost indescribable. You want to be with them at all times, and they always occupy your mind. You wish time would come to a halt so that you could stand by them forever."

Havanna stared up at the nun. She couldn't believe what she had said. It had only been recent that she had felt the same.

_I…I..Am I finally…in love?_ She questioned in her mind. The she-kat knew that she had just made her life far more complicated. Not only was she going to be forced into marriage, but she also had fallen in love for an outsider that may have known about the pillar. Havanna buried her head back into the bed, and gently cried.


	12. Chapter 11

Note from the Author: Hey guys, I've got another update for you. With finals ending and all, I've had much more time to go into my writing. Hopefully, I can continue so on the break as well. It's only three days till Christmas and I'm already sick, isn't that my luck? Well, no use griping about it. I haven't heard anything from my readers last time. I hope you guys are still reading my work. Well, if you are, please enjoy. And don't forget to review too. I love hearing your opinions, good and bad.

Chapter 11

Present: Megakat City Salvage Yard

**BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!!** The alarm clock rang at Tai's bedside. The red kat tried to ignore it, rolling in his bed in order to get into a comfortable position. The buzzing continued to disturb the tom's peace. Tai knew he had to wake up. He had hit the snooze button a total of six times in order to continue resting. He also knew he had about ten minutes before he had to open the garage for business. If Burke and Morray came by and saw that it was still closed, they would report it to the city officials and Tai would be in great trouble. Tai's furry paw reached out over the bed and slid the switch on the alarm clock; turn it off and stopping the horrible buzzing. He threw the covers off of himself and shifted upright, his feet touching the floor. But when Tai tried to stand up, his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed onto the floor, hitting it hard.

"Man, I'm so tired." He moaned in a groggy tone. He pushed up with his arms, feeling as if a fifty-pound weight had been placed on his back during his close encounter with the floor. He finally lifted his upper body up and then went onto getting up onto his feet. When he did, he staggered over to the dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of overalls, his daily uniform. The reason for his drained energy was from the fact that he had only received three hours of sleep. He had stayed up all throughout the night and early I not the morning, combing over the files his friends and partners had kept. Jake always made sure to make a new file for every mission and adventure they had, often forcing Chance and Tai to sit and give their accounts on what went on, blending it perfectly so the file gave a fully detailed report. The red kat had once asked Jake why it was so important to keep files like that. Jake had given him a serious look and answered.

"_For three reasons. One is to make sure we know what they are capable of. Two is that we can look back and enjoy what we have accomplished. And three…"_

"_And three?"_

"_If we don't survive, I want people to see that even through we were seen as failures and thrown into the gutter, we still got right back up and kicked tail."_

"Heh, good old Jake." Tai mused as he slipped on the overalls and straitened the fur on his head. "Always calculating and planning on the future."

He had researched everything on the Pastmaster, utilizing both the files and the Internet. He had found many articles and posts about the little gnome. Many of the things he had found were either repetitions or completely useless. By the time he actually looked at the clock, it was four in the morning. Deciding that it would hinder his work schedule, he decided to go to bed.

Tai slipped on his shoes and started out the door. As the red kat descended the stairs, the phone had begun to ring.

"So much for coffee.' He moaned, hurrying his decent. Reaching the kitchen, he swiped the phone from its receiver.

"Megakat City Salvage Yard." He greeted.

"Hello, who is this?" Callie's voice responded.

"Callie? This is Tai Crimclaw." Tai answered.

"Oh! I didn't know. You don't usually talk."

Tai rolled his eyes at the response. He couldn't help that he was shy, it just came naturally.

"So, your car in trouble again?"

"No. Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Jake." Callie answered. Tai's ears jumped up into an alert position. He knew that this problem would eventually come up. And so, in response, he prepared a decisive and complex plan to counter such an event.

"Sorry, he's out of town." Tai informed.

"Out of town?" Callico Briggs questioned. "When did he leave?"

"Last night. His mother called him and informed that his dad was in the hospital down in Winterkat City. Chance's with him too."

"So you're there by yourself?"

"Yep. So, how can I help you?"

The was a stunned silence between the two. Tai became very uncomfortable for a moment before Callie answered.

"No. It... it's nothing." The she-kat answered in a sadden tone.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks anyways." Calico responded. There was a click, followed done by a dial tone. Tai hung up as well, knowing that something more was going on.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Callie's apartment

Calico Briggs clicked the end button on the phone. She knew it was rude of her to hang up on Tai, but the thought was at the very back of her mind. She felt engulfed in depression and sadness. Not only had she missed seeing him the day before, which was rather fortunate with the circumstances, but also now she had just missed opportunity to ask him something important. She leaned her back against the wall by her phone, sulking in her disappointment. Glancing down, the ske-kat saw she was gripping hard at the slip of paper she had printed off on the computer the night before. It had a picture of a movie ticket on it and it read _"Fandango ticket for Hard Shell: The Mutation. Total company: 2"_

"I tried." Callie sighed as she took the paper in both paws, shredding it slowly and with precision. She originally wanted to ask Jake Clawson out when they were at the museum, but luck would have it that the Past Master struck at the most opportune time. She always had a knack for getting into trouble with the major villains of the city.

"I'm such a jinx." She moaned, casting the shreds of paper before her. "I can't even ask the guy I like out on a date. I've been practicing my approach over and over, and even practiced what I would say in any kind of outcome. Whether he said yes, no, or even hell no."

Callie glanced across the room to a clock hanging on the wall. She was going to be late for work today if she wasn't out the door in that minute. Quickly gathering the essential items she needed for everyday life, make up, cell phone, purse, money, SWAT Kat communicator, the she-kat quickly checked on her appearance and rushed out the door.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Megakat City Salvage Yard

Tai was still unsure of what had happened. Callie sounded really depressed when he lied to her about Jake being in another city. Since she didn't even ask for a phone number so that she could contact him, it must not have been that serious.

"I'm probably thinking too much into this." Tai said to himself. "What I need to focus on it getting through the day and then figuring out if there's any leads on the Past…"

The black and red kat stopped when he heard the familiar sound of gravel being crushed under tires. Quickly moving to the windows at the front of the house, he gazed out into the salvage yard and spotted the last thing he wanted to see. Driving into the yard was the large dump truck driven by none other than Burke and Murray.

_Oh great! As if this time wasn't bad enough!!_ Tai thought with a scowl as he moved towards the front door, going out into the yard. The two truck drives positioned their truck right in front of the garage entrance, and dumped the massive load of scrap they had carried.

"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!" Tai roared. "WHAT IF I GET A CUSTOMER TODAY!!??"

"That's your problem, not ours." Murray responded with a smug look as he exited the truck.

"You's better clean it up before someone comes, or your not gonna get's your paycheck." Burke added, exiting the truck as well. The two stood before the red kat in a challenging way.

"What exactly is your problem?" Tai questioned, baring his teeth. "Not getting enough satisfaction in your lives, so you have to burden mine?"

"That's none of your busyness Ghost Buster!" Murray snapped. He glanced around the yard for a moment, his eyes like a hawk's. "Where are those other junk yard kats?"

"They're out of town on a family emergency!" Tai growled.

"Aww, did we make the poor ole kitty mad?" The fat brown tom asked in a mocking tone. The two laughed at Tai's anger, not caring a bit about his predicament.

"God, I would pound the both of you if I didn't know what kind of cowards you were!" The red kat said.

"What was that!?"

"You heard me!" Tai responded. "I could wipe the floor with you two, just you'd probably go complain to the higher ups and try to get my pay cut."

"You think you could take both of us on?" Burke questioned, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah. You wanna go? Let's go!" Murray added, putting his fists up in a boxer fighting style. Tai eased back into a stance, when the sound of a car pulling up reached his ears again. The three got out of their confrontation and looked to see an Enforcer patrol car had driven up to the house. It stopped before the three and parked. When the door opened, a familiar face appeared.

"Is there a problem guys?" Lieutenant Felina Feral asked, her eyes darting from tom to tom.

_Felina!! _Tai exclaimed in his thoughts.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Past: Bombay- church

T-bone and Razor slept peacefully, despite T-bone's loud snoring. Razor slept on his side, facing away from the blond tabby. The dawn light, filtered from the stained glass, shined over him, giving the ginger kat a multicolored hue. His tail flicked back in forth during his sleep, a normally uncommon feature. T-bone on the other hand, was sprawled out of his straw bed. His right arm stretched out over his head while his left rested at his side. His legs were stretched out as far as they could be while his tail was slack on the floor. His mouth was open slightly, and a loud snore flowed from it periodically. There was a deathly silence in the whole temple, not a single sound could possibly escape one's ears. However, that didn't apply to these two masked heroes. Soon, there was the sound of footprints that echoed in the church. They were slight and quiet, but could be heard never the less. The footsteps became louder and louder as they traveled up the stairs.

**THUMP THUMP THUMP**

However, the kats were too deep in their sleep to realize that someone was quickly approaching. The being entered the top room, where T-bone and Razor rested. The being creped forth towards T-bone, who retained his knocked out state. The being had a blunt object in his hands and held it over the kat.

"You lazy kat, it's time to work!" A familiar voice shouted as he brought down the cane, sticking the tabby. T-bone jumped up into the air with a yelp of pain. The tabby went to strike the perpetrator, when he saw it was a familiar Old Russian blue.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR!!" T-bone roared.

"You've had enough sleep." Father Nore replied. "Perhaps even more. The sounds I heard could wake the titans from their sleep."

Razor stirred from his sleep and watched the two in a groggy way. "Wha happened?"

"This jerk beat me with a cane!" T-bone shouted.

"As I said, you must help me prepare the temple before the sermon this morning!" Father Nore reminded. "Those were the conditions for you staying here."

"But what if we get caught?" Razor asked, yawning from his disturbed sleep. The Russian blue kat turned away and went to the stairs, using the cane as a support. He crouched down to the first step and picked up two clean white togas.

"You shall wear these. If anyone asks you where you are from, you say you are from Katalonia and you have come to assist me in the temple."

"Katalonia?" T-bone questioned as he took the clothes from the old priest.

"It's a place in Spain T-bone." Razor reminded. "Jeez, pay attention in geography?"

"Again, comic books." The blond tabby smirked, tossing his partner a toga.

"That's your excuse for everything, isn't it." The ginger kat responded with a playful tone.

"Please, enough talk." Nore moaned. "I need you down there. Please hurry and change." The Russian blue turned away from the two, muttering how they were speaking of such nonsense like comic books. The two toms were alone now. They glanced at the clothes they had been given and pondered how to put them on.

"So, how do we wear these things?" T-bone asked.

"Well, first things first, we need to get out of our suits." Razor answered, pulling off his bandana. The two stripped off their flight suits and laid them in a pile neatly on the floor. They were down to their boxers, still staring at the togas.

"Well what now?" Chance asked again.

"Hmm." Jake pondered. "Well, we just have to wrap ourselves in them, like the people from last night."

"Whatever. But the boxers stay on!" Chance responded, taking the white cloth and putting it on.

"Thank god." Jake teased, doing the same. After a ten-minute period of trial and error between the two, they finally got the robes on, but in different styles. Jake's was wrapped in a fancy, structured way. It completely covered his torso, thighs, and chest, finally draping over his left arm. Chance however, had his cover down to his knees, his stomach, and his left pectoral. This left his arms free and showed off his strong muscles.

"Hey, these aren't half bad." Chance stated as his eyes looked over the robe. "Nice and loose."

"Yeah, well remember we're here to find a way home. Not marvel in the fashions." Jake said in a stern voice. "Besides, we better go down there and help the old man with cleaning the place up, since the princess is going to be here and all."

Chance's ears shot up the instant the ginger kat had mentioned the she-kat they had met earlier. He bolted for the stairs and descended them with great haste, leaving Jake wondering what was wrong with his partner. Racing down to the Chapel, Chance saw that Father Nore was waiting at the very end with basic cleaning items. He had a old broom made of straw, a wooden bucket filled with freshly boiled water and a brown rag hanging off of it, and a wooden latter leaning against the wall behind the priest.

"Cleaning services!" Chance called as he reached the end, standing erect and going into a salute.

"What stupidity is this?" Nore asked, reminding Chance that he was in a different time again. The blond tabby came out of his position and smiled.

"I'm ready to get to work!" He informed.

"What has changed your mind?"

"Nothin."

Father Nore gave him a curious look and then shoved the broom into his hands.

"You shall sweep the floors. Make sure to leave not dirt left."

"Aye Aye sir!" Chance replied, leaving the old kat. Soon enough, Jake descended to the bottom as well, meeting with Father Nore.

"So, what should I do?" Jake asked. The old priest smirked, picked up the bucket, and shoved it into Jake's hands, making water splash and slush about.

"You shall clean the glass and windows. Be sure to do it well, for the murals are important." Nore informed. Jake glanced over to the tall windows and moaned under his breath. The ginger kat grabbed the latter behind Father Nore and preceded to one of the stained glass murals on the far right wall of the Chapel as Chance swept down the center aisle. Leaning the latter against the wall, Jake set the bucket on the ground and gently dipped the brown rag into the steaming hot water. He glanced up to the mural, and was amazed at what he had seen. The glass depicted a grassy plain with a bright white light in the center. Six colored spheres surrounded the light, having two special symbols on each one. Curiosity gripped Jake easily, and he looked over to Father Nore.

"What is this?" He asked.

"What is what?" Father Nore retorted,

"What's this mural on the glass." Jake clarified, starting to feel greatly annoyed at the priest's attitude. Father Nore looked to the glass, then back to Jake. He surprised him by giving the ginger kat a warm smile.

"That is quiet simple my friend." Nore said. "The white in the center represents Haru Kantose, our patron god. The six circles around him are his messengers and guardians, the Angelic Knights."

Chance turned sharply to the priest at the sound of the name.

"What was that?" He asked.

"The Angelic Knights?"

This time, Jake caught it too. The two partners looked to each other, seemingly sharing the same thoughts and mind. Father Nore however, had no idea what was going on.

"Is something the matter?" Nore asked.

"No." Chance answered. "It's just… a dear friend of ours talked about the knights before. By the way, is Haru Kantose known as the Omniforce too?"

"No. I have heard of no such title." The old priest returned, shaking his head. "But now is really not the time for such things. The temple must be ready! The sermon shall begin soon, and I want this place looking better than the palace itself!"

"Jeez! We're on it, we're on it!" Chance growled, turning back to his work. Jake continued back to his as well, starting to wipe the window clean.

_The kid would really enjoy it here, if the circumstances were different._ The ginger kat thought as he worked hard. _ Don't worry Tai. I'll tell you all about it WHEN Chance and I come back. I'll make damn sure of it!_


	13. Chapter 12

Note from the Author: konnichiwa everyone! Well, it's another update from me, Tigerkat. Things have been really going well. Christmas was good with both my mom and my dad. I've really enjoyed my time off of school as well. Unfortunately, it is my senior year and I'm scared as hell to become an adult. But, I hear that many people have these insecurities. How they get over them, I don't know. I just hope things get better and I do figure it out. Well, enough about me. Please enjoy this new chapter, and don't forget to review!

Chapter 12

Present: Megakat City Salvage Yard

Burke, Murray, and Tai were frozen under the powerful eyes to Felina Feral. The arrival of the lieutenant had not been anticipated, and the two dump truck drivers knew that if they were caught, Feral on them faster than they could say "Kats Alive". Felina's eyes darted from person to person, then to their surroundings. When she couldn't deduce what the situation was, she decided to ask the ones again.

"So, what's going on?" She asked again.

Burke and Murray glanced to each other, and a sly smile simultaneously appeared on their mugs.

"This junkyard tom wasn't doin' his job." Murray informed, glancing over to Crimclaw and giving him a malevolent glare.

"Really?" Felina questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Explain."

"Well, we's came here to check up on then, like your uncle assigned us to, when we saw all this mess." Burke continued. "Procedure is clear that all junk has to be sorted and put in their respective areas. So, he wasn't doin' his job."

"And when we called this guy up, we found out the others were gone. We asked why the junk wasn't done, and he started hollarin and pickin a fight."

"What!" Tai shouted. "You guys are nothing but filthy…"

"Quiet." Felina snapped, silencing Tai Crimclaw. She looked back to Burke and Murray. "You two are dismissed. Report back to Enforcer Headquarters to pick up the next shipment."

"Yes ma'am!" The two responded, briskly going to the dump truck and getting in. Murray started up the engine quickly, not wanting to stay and get caught. As they drove away, Burke stuck his head out the window towards the two.

"See ya around, Ghost Buster!" He shouted as the truck drove away. Tai's teeth became grit and his claws jumped out of his paws in a flash of fury. It was inconceivable to him. The ones who actually started the whole mess were getting away at forty miles an hour while he was going to be scolded for it. He looked to Felina and calmed down. This was the second time they had met, but he wasn't shy. He felt more confident with her, and it wouldn't hurt to tell her his side of the story.

"Um…Felina." Tai said, catching her attention.

"How do you know my name?" She asked. "I think this is the first time we've met."

"Well, actually, this isn't." The red kat informed. "I use to work for the Enforcers. I met you at the monthly staff meetings, before I got kicked out."

"Oh right. You worked for that research department." Felina recalled. "You looked very scared. If I'm right, you were the first one out the door when it ended."

"Yeah. I was." Tai confirmed in an embarrassed tone.

"I guess you haven't heard the news then."

"Heard what?"

Felina took in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.

"They closed the research department. Cut the finding and everything."

"WHAT!!" Tai exclaimed in pure surprise. "Why would they do that!"

"The council board reviewed its progress and decided to stop it. The only real information they had obtained was yours." Felina explained. Tai's eyes fell to the ground in sadness. He had worked so hard for that data, and now he would never have a chance to see it. It also made it so that the data was inaccessible. One of his plans was to retrieve the data from enforcer headquarters in order to try and come up with a plan. However, that seemed to be impossible now.

"So, they messed this place up, right?" Felina asked.

"Yeah." Tai answered thoughtlessly. His brain registered what she had said, and he looked to her with confusion. "You knew?"

"Yep."

"Why'd you let them go then?"

"I wanted them to think they were secure." Felina informed, giving a sly smile. "When we're done here, I'll report them in. Uncle wants to keep an eye on you guys, but he wont tolerate misconduct."

"Alright. So what can I do for you?" Tai responded.

"My patrol car's been making this very weird sound lately." Felina informed. "I had to go outside the city because there had been some trouble out there lately when I heard it. I didn't want to drive all the way to the headquarters, so I came here."

" Well, just let me take a look at it and I'll have it purring in no time." The red kat said.

"Alright. But let's get this junk out of the way so I can pull up." The enforcer replied with a smile. Felina went to the massive pile of metal scrape and scooped up a few pieces into her paws. "Where do these go?"

"Over here. I'll show you." Tai answered. He and the Enforcer started towards the massive pile, beginning the clean up.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Past: Bombay Church

"So, what exactly are the knights?" Jake asked as he continued to wash the stained glass windows, stretching as far as he could to reach the tops. Father Nore looked up to the ginger kat from the platform and sighed.

"I suppose I should tell you, since you are impersonating a member of the holy order." Father Nore replied. "As I have said before, they are the messengers and guardians of Haru Kantose, our lord in heaven. It s their duty to protect our world from Chaos, the very source of evil. When a creature of Chaos appears in this world, they will appear to destroy it and all it possesses."

"What do you mean, possesses?" Chance interjected, ceasing to sweep for a moment.

"These creatures do not act the way normal monstrosities do." The priest informed in a dark tone. "There is evil in the hearts of all men. That is a fact that cannot be overlooked and cannot be denied. These creatures of Chaos come to a person with the potential to do great deeds of darkness, and infest them. It burrows down deep, deep into the soul, and magnifies it until it becomes a twisted spirit. The body naturally reacts to the soul, and takes the same form."

Jake and Chance were taken by what Nore had informed them. It sent icy cold chills down their spines. Even though Chance found these things difficult to believe in, he could not help how he felt deep down in his form. Nore's eyes darted from one to another, seeing they had stopped.

"Well, what are you waiting for!? Get back to work!"

Jake and Chance resumed their work; intent on finishing the work they had begun. It had been nearly an hour before they had finished their work. Father Nore had walked slowly between the aisle's, checking each one for any speck of dirt that the blond tabby outsider may have missed. When he could not find anything wrong with those, he started with the windows. With great care, he looked over each one, checking every single panel to be sure that there was not a single spot. When he could not find a single thing wrong, he turned to the two with a pleasant look.

"Perhaps you two aren't as pointless and lazy and I might have imagined." He stated.

"Gee, thanks." Chance scoffed. "So, what now?"

"We just simply wait for the church to fill, and then the sermon shall begin."

Soon enough, the three could hear the sound of people approaching the church.

"Well, speak of the devil." Jake responded.

"You'd better not!" Nore snapped. "Now, sit yourselves down anywhere you please and remember that if anyone asks where you are from…"

"We tell them we are from Katalona and that we're here to learn from the church." Jake interrupted, silencing the priest. Nore nodded and started fro the doors while Jake and Chance moved steadily down the aisle, seating themselves on the fourth row from the front. When Nore opened the doors, kats of all types and social classes entered. Little kittens would run in front of their parents into the church and would bid them to hurry before their favorite seats were taken. Seniors were helped by family and strangers alike while Nore greeted every one who entered with a bright and caring smile. Both SWAT Kats watched in quiet, impressed with how everyone treated each other.

"You don't see these kinds of things in our time." Jake stated.

"Yeah. Everyone's more concerned about themselves rather than other people. It's pretty sad when you think about it." Chance replied.

"Yeah, but there are still a lot of people who care for others." The ginger kat informed.

"I know. The SWAT Kats care about everyone in Megakat." Chance smirked, ruffling Jake's hair in a playful manner. Jake tried to block the burly tabby's paws, but was unsuccessful. As they messed around, a plumb grey she-kat, followed by eight small kittens, came and sat beside them. The kittens were playing and yammering, while the mother was trying in vain to calm them. Seeing they were not alone, Chance and Jake stopped their horseplay and looked to the new comer.

"These children. It's so hard to have them listen to you these days." The woman said.

"Believe me, it's going to get worse." Jake replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing!" Chance interjected, slapping a paw over the ginger kat's mouth to keep him silent. "My friend here says weird things every now and then. It's pretty funny actually."

"You two don't look very familiar. Are you new to our fair kingdom?" The mother asked. The two toms were instantly dumbstruck by the question. For a moment, they had even forgotten the alibi they had created with Nore incase such a question would arise. However, they were both fortunate that Jake had been able to pick himself up just in time to prevent suspicions.

"We are both from Katalona." Jake informed smoothly and calmly. "We came from the holy order branch up there, and we came here in order to learn how to good clerics and priests from Father Nore."

"Ah, I see." The mother responded, giving them a gentle smile. "Traveling down here must have been very bothersome for you then."

"How?" Chance asked.

"Well, there are a series of hurricanes that hit the shorelines around this time of year. It is during the warmer seasons that we increase our exports and imports so we can have food and supplies for the winter if we are unable to provide them for ourselves."

"Well, we didn't get any trouble. I guess that means that luck, I mean Haru, were on our side." Chance explained.

"I'm glad for you." The she-kat said. "Father Nore has been the only priest at this temple for many years. Very few people have the need to become disciples of him, so I suppose there would be a need for the other branches to send young ones to learn from him. I pray that you do well in your quest."

"Thank you very much ma'am." Jake thanked in a friendly tone.

"Mama. I want to sit closer." A child requested.

"Me too." Another added.

"Me too."

"I'd like to as well."

"Alright alright. Just be patient." The mother responded. She glanced back to the two tom kats. "I'm afraid I have to go. Please enjoy yourselves in our city."

"Thanks, we will." Chance returned as the woman went away. When she was gone, he let out a sigh of relief.

"That was way too close." He stated.

"It was your own fault for losing your cool at the last minute." Jake retorted.

"Hey, I didn't even think people were going to talk to us."

"That why we created the alibi. Jeez, your brain doesn't stay on the same page as everyone else's."

"That's cold Jake, really cold." Chance responded. A sudden sound of cheers and calls reached their ears and made them cease their argument. Both of the kat's senses felt that something big was going on right then and there. However, it was when they saw what was attracting so much attention that the realized why it was a big deal. The continual entry of people ceased, and those in the doorway parted like the red sea. Chance and Jake saw three people walking down the space between the citizens. Kats of all kinds bowed down in respect. The person on the right of the three was a tall, muscled, dark chocolate colored tom in grey roman armor. The one in the center was a proud, noble lion wearing steel armor with rubies, a golden circlet, and a large axe strapped to his back. And on the left of the group, who Chance could clearly recognize, was Havanna. She fur was clean and freshly groomed, being covered by a maroon dress that reached down to her ankles. Her hair had been braided in a French braid style, and tied at the very end with a red-jeweled hair band, which were actually stringed garnets. Around her neck hung the silver winged sun and moon, gleaming brightly. Chance could not believe how beautiful the maiden truly was. His heart beat fiercely in his chest, to the point where he couldn't even speak. All he could do in his power was wait and watch this true vision of beauty. Father Nore meet them on the path and ushered them to a series of stairs that lead them to a platform above the normal crowd, with soft carpeted floors, cushioned seats, and a overview of the entire chapel. Falis and Myson sat themselves on the seats while Havanna leaned against the rails, looking down upon everyone.

"Milady, you act as a child would." Myson joked.

"It's to be expected. Tis her passion." Falis responded. Nore had left the royals and returned to the bottom floor. He gracefully went to the podium and the audience went silent.

"Thank you all for coming to our fair church this beautiful morning." The priest thanked. "Now, we shall start again from where we had…"

"Forgive me Father Nore." Falis interrupted, standing tall at the handrails, his strong voice overpowering Nore's. The entire audience looked up to the king, including both Chance and Jake.

"Today, we have guests at the castle." Falis announced. "The queen and prince of the Lynx kingdom have arrived. And to celebrate their arrival, we have decided to have a feast, and all who is to come may!"

The entire crowd erupted in a roar of cheers, some chanting Falis's name in honor. Havanna looked depressed at the announcement, until she gazed down into the audience and spotted Chance. Her ears perked up and she drew a quick breath into her lungs. Chance was staring up at her, still captive at her beauty. In shyness unlike him, the blond tabby raised his arms and waved to her. Havanna smiled brightly and waved down to the burly tabby, her heart beating fast in her chest.

"Okay everyone, please quiet down so we may begin." Nore requested, settling everyone down. Chance and Havanna broke their contact and looked back to Nore, who began the sermon.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Present: Megakat City Graveyard

The bright morning sun shined brightly over the dark graveyard, bringing light to the shadows and gloom. The dead were brought peace through the light of the sun, but this did not apply to the undead. In his tall tower, the Pastmaster was hard at work, hanging up cloths and blankets to block out the daylight.

"That dammed sun." He growled. The orange skeletal kat finished his work, having blocked all the spots where the sunlight was shining through. Candles laid on both the floors and the desk, giving their light and brightening up the room. In the center of the room sat an old oak desk and in its center laid the journal of the first king of Bombay. The Pastmaster trotted over to the book, and stroked its cover as if he was feeling the skin of a person. Her lips were drawn up into a devilish grin, and he opened the cover.

"Oh, the history!" He cried, seeing the color of the pages and feeling the texture. "The age of this tome is perfect. Soon, all things will have this feeling, when I return this city to the dark ages!"

The Pastmaster flipped through the pages, reading at a great speed. When he had finished the book, he slammed onto it with the palm of his skeletal hand.

"THIS HAS NOTHING!!" He roared in pure fury. "That damned king! Haru Kantose gave him the secrets to the pillar and he left no record!!"

The Pastmaster continued to scowl, until he felt something. On the inside of the front cover, the texture felt different, but familiar. The skeletal kat's grin returned as he picked up a nearby candle. Angling it with precision, he touched the inside cover of the book, and watched. The inside quickly lit on fire, but dies away just as quickly. Where there was a blank binding was now neat writing.

"Hiding the secrets, eh your highness." The Pastmaster mocked to himself. "Such old ways are not new to me. Now, what is the secret?"

Picking up the book, he started to read the hidden words, his eye shining with malice and evil.


	14. Chapter 13

Note from the Author: Well, here's another update. I didn't receive any reviews last time, so I hope this one will be better. I have a lot more chapters and this one, and the SKT series has many fan fictions in it, so I hope I'm not making people lose their interest in it. Well, I'll get out of your way. Please enjoy the next chapter of Pillar of Power and remember to review. I enjoy hearing what you guys have to say.

Chapter 13

Present: Megakat City Salvage Yard

It had taken about an hour for the two kats to sort through all of the junk and take them to their proper piles. The pathway into the garage was cleared and Felina pulled her Enforcer vehicle into the workshop. Tai had spared no expense in hastily getting to work. He wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible in order to continue his search for the guys and to bring them home.

_There has to be some way to bring them back._ The red kat thought as he tinkered with the engine, checking all possible things that could produce the strange sound Felina had talked about. _I mean I know that there must be a way to bring them back if they were sent off in the first place. But I don't know how to do magic or anything like that._

"So how's it going?" Felina asked, breaking Tai's train of thought. The mechanic stared at her, taking his eyes off the engine.

"I'm not to sure what's wrong with it. There are a lot of things…AHA!!"

"What?"

"Here it is. " Tai informed with a triumphant tone. "The fan belt's the problem. It's not suppose to be this loose, and that makes a squealing sound in the engine."

"Oh, so that's what it was." The Enforcer responded. "I'm going to have to tell the vehicle maintenance crew down at headquarters that they need to do a better job checking the patrol cars."

"Well, it could have loosened while you were going on patrol." Tai stated. "So don't go too hard on them. It might not have been their fault."

Felina nodded respectfully as she leaned against the doorframe leading into the house. Making a quick glance with her peripheral vision, she saw the interior and was mildly surprised.

"Your house is pretty clean, considering three guys live in there." She commented. Tai's ears went in alert, but then drooped down at the thought of Chance and Jake.

"Those two, where are they?"

"They're gone on a family emergency." Tai informed with a depressed tone.

"They were those pilots who were kicked off a few years back right?" Felina questioned. "Yeah, they were."

Suddenly, the she-kat started to give a small giggle.

"What's so funny?" Tai asked. Felina stopped her laughter and looked squarely at the red and black kat.

"Well, it's that my uncle still has a problem with them." She informed. "He keeps ranting about if he were able to find pilots better than the two hot shots, he'd die a happy kat."

"Really? I thought he'd die a happy kat if he caught the SWAT Kats." Tai responded with a smug tone.

"That too. But even if they were caught, they wouldn't get put in jail. With all the times they've saved the city, there'd be an angry mob demanding their release."

"Yep, I'd be with them."

"Same here." Felina said with a nod. "They're great. Even that third one."

"Third one?!" The red kat responded, as he acted surprised. Felina became alert, now knowing what she said.

"Well, I don't think you talk to many Enforcers here, so I'll let you in on a little secret." The she-kat replied. "I haven't told anyone about this, but there's this other kat going around with them. He seems like a trainee to me, since he was acting pretty jumpy the whole time."

_Well sorry Felina! It was my first official mission!_ Tai shouted in his mind.

"But I hope to see him again. He really helped me out." Felina continued.

"Well, maybe you will see him again." Tai stated.

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a feeling." Tai answered, getting his head out of the engine and closing the hood. "There you go. You're all set."

"Thanks. Just charge it to the Enforcers." Felina responded, going to her car.

"No prob. Come by anytime you need a fix."

Felina started up the engine, making the car roar to life. She quickly shifted into reverse and pulled out into the yard. After quickly pausing to wave goodbye to the red kat, she sped off out of the yard and towards the main road. Tai stood in the garage for a moment, smiling happily.

"Well, at least I was able to see her again. Too bad she doesn't remember me." Tai sighed with a smile. He turned away from the garage and headed into the house, determined to make breakfast and continue on his search to find the original SWAT Kats.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Past: Bombay Church

Father Nore closed his book and set it upon the podium. He saw the crowd before him was once again stirred by one of his sermons. It gave him a deep sense of pride and joy to see how his people, whom he had devoted the best years of his life to, were still able to find peace and happiness under the divine words of Haru Kantose.

"We shall continue our sermon next week." He informed. The priest looked up to the stained glass windows, then back to the mass. "May our Lord Haru guide your lives to wealth, love, and happiness."

The mass exploded with cheer. Even Jake, who had been quiet the whole sermon, was on his feet and shouting along with many of the other toms. He felt a deep spiritual connection with the words the priest had spoken during the sermon. The classic feel of Nore's words had struck him hard. The ginger kat glanced down to his partner, and his joyous expression turned to one of disappointment. The blond tabby, who had started the sermon fine, was sleeping in his seat. He was in an upright position, but his back had slouched forward with his head hung. His eyes seemed sealed shut and there was the low sound of his snoring.

_Jeez Chance. Have some dignity!_ The kat scoffed in his mind as he looked down at the tabby. Suddenly, Jake saw that motion had started in the mass. Looking around, he saw people were exiting the church in an orderly fashion. Knowing that their landlord Nore would be furious if he found Chance asleep, Jake decided to hastily wake him.

"Hey! Hey! Wake up Chance. Wake up." Jake begged as he placed his paws on the burly tom's body, shaking it strongly. Chance stirred for a moment while Jake was shaking him. His eyelids flickered back and forth from open to shut, his eyes moving around as they did. In the few seconds it happened, it stopped and Chance returned to his sleep.

" Ah great!" Jake growled. "Guess we just have to do this the hard way, I suppose."

The ginger kat bent his knees and crouched down so he was the same level as Chance. Positioning his paws on the sides of the tabby's chubby face, Jake pulled his head closer to his partner's ear. Jake inhaled a large breath, and blew as hard as he could. Chance's eyes shot open, and his peaceful expression turned to one of unease.

"Ahhh!" He shouted, pushing Jake off of him. The blond tabby shook his head fast and began to paw the ear the Jake had blown in. "Man Jake, what the hell was that?!"

"Hey, I had to wake you up some how." The ginger kat smirked. "I mean an earthquake probably couldn't wake you up. So, I went with the oldest trick in the book,"

"I fell asleep?" Chance questioned. "When?"

"Well, lets see." Jake mocked. "Oh right. It was after the twenty minutes you were spending staring at the princess. Do you have any idea what would have happened if we were caught? They would have dragged us out of here for sure."

"Well sorry bud, but I've never been good with these religious things." The blond tabby muttered. "You know as well as I do that I'm not a morning person."

"Yeah yeah." Jake sighed. "Well, we should probably go outside."

"Why?"

"Cause everyone else is. We don't want to look suspicious, remember?"

"Right." Chance agreed, standing up. The two moved swiftly through the aisles down to the walkway and exited the chapel. When they got to the outside, the bright warm sun greeted the two tom kats. Jake shaded his eyes with his paw for a moment to get adjusted to the light with Chance immediately became accustomed to it. All around them were people talking up a storm. Some were discussing what they were going to do for the celebration while others talk about their businesses and families.

"Wow, this is a close community." Jake commented.

"I'll say." Chance agreed. "Our time is definitely not this social."

"I don't know. I kind of like how our generation is." Jake stated. "And I want to get back to our time ASAP. So, we need to find a sorcerer who can send us back or travel to Megalith City and ask Callista to do it."

"Can't wait to see your queen again huh?" The burly tom joked, giving Jake a playful slug on the shoulder.

"Hey! Quit it!" Jake snapped. "Jeez, I haven't heard the end of it since we got back from that time."

"And you never will." Chance smirked.

Jake rolled his eyes at the burly tabby and started in the crowd. The two wondered around, and were surprisingly greeted nicely by the other citizens of Bombay. Chance let out a small yawn as they went, until his eyes wondered over to something that excited him. Not too far from him was the royal family. The king, or who he assumed to be the king, was speaking with other noble looking kats, informing them about the celebration he had announced not too long ago. Beside him was his lovely daughter Havanna, who was the one who truly excited Chance. However, as the tabby saw her, his face changed to show a look of concern. He saw that the princess had a downcast look, keeping her eyes on the ground as her father spoke, nodding whenever he went to speak with her.

_I wonder what's up._ Chance thought. _Maybe I'll just go and see. I mean, she did help us after all._

"S'cuse me bud. I'm gonna hang over there for a while." Chance informed, beginning his stroll over to the royals, until Jake grabbed his arms.

"What? Don't leave me here by myself." The ginger kat returned.

"Don't worry, I'll be back."

"And what am I suppose to do?"

"Mingle. What else?" The blond tabby answered, pushing off Jake's grip and going towards the princess. He kept his eyes squarely on her, sometimes bumping into people in the process and not even caring to apologize. The bright morning sun only seemed to accentuate her beauty; making the maroon gown she wore give off a subtle glow. Chance continued forward, entranced by the she-kat, until he bumped into a large body. The tabby stepped back and rubbed his nose, soothing the damage it had received from the impact. When he looked at the person, he saw it was the same chocolate brown tom he had seen before with the royal family, when they were entering the church. The tom glared down at Chance, his eyes showing a strong level of malice.

"Where do you think are doing?" He asked.

"I was at least looking where I was going." Chance growled in response. "Now can you move over, body block?"

"I don't think so." Myson responded. "I doubt the king or his daughter would like to spend their precious time with a low life like you."

"LOW LIFE!" The burly tabby roared. "Oh I'm gonna enjoy whipping the floor with your tail."

The two went into a fighting stance, about to duke it out, when a voice stopped both of them.

"MYSON!" The voice sounded. Myson wheeled about and found Havanna behind him. The princess had her paws on her hips and he eyes were narrowed strait at the chocolate brown tom.

"Princess." Myson responded.

"What is going on here?"

"I was just about to take care of this roughian." The Knight stated. "He was starting to make trouble, and those who are new to our kingdom should be respectful."

"We do not condone violence, especially to our guests." Havanna scolded. Both Myson and Falis looked at her with shock and surprise. They've never seen her act this commanding before. Chance was equally surprised as well. Havanna looked to Chance and smiled.

"Are you alright sir?" The princess asked.

"What do you mean Hav…" Chance began when he realized that she was pretending to not know who he was. "I mean, I'm fine princess."

"Shall we speak in private?" The princess of Bombay asked again.

"It would be an honor." Chance acted. Havanna came to the tabby and took his paw, leading him away towards the church. Myson watched the two, the gears in his head turning. The two kats had entered the holy building, finding it completely empty.

"That was very close." Havanna stated. Chance nodded in agreement, but turned his head to hide his blushing. The girl he was infatuated with was holding his paw. Her fur was and pads were softer than he thought, and she kept a gentle grip on his. Havanna glanced to the tom with curious eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Huh!" Chance responded, being broken from his trance. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Havanna continued to give him a strange look as they sat down on one of the stone benches. The two remained quiet, giving on awkward silence.

_Come on Furlong! You're supposed to be the ladies kat of the group! Think of something to say._ Chance scolded himself inside his mind.

"So, there's gonna be a party at the palace huh?" The blond tabby said, breaking the silence. "It's sure gonna be something, huh."

"Yes. I think it will." Havanna replied in a melancholy tone. Chance could sense that there was turmoil in her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong." The princess lied. Chance could easily see through the lie the princess had told, and he narrowed his eyes into a stare.

"I hate it when people do that." He stated.

"Do what?"

"When people lie to me." Chance explained. "If you feel bad about something, you should take to someone and get it off your chest instead of bottling it up inside. I have a friend home who does that. One time, I had do knock him on the head so he'd finally spill his guts."

Havanna's ears shot up and her eyes grew wide. "You're not going to strike me are you!"

"What? No!" The burly tabby exclaimed. "I was just saying that I really hate it when people lie to me. Besides, I'd never hit a girl as cute as you."

Havanna now looked at him with confusion. "What is 'Cute'?"

"Cute is…well. Cute's…" Chance tried to explain, stuttering the whole time as he was trying to gather his thoughts to form the correct words. "Cute is…oh…ah…Grrr!"

The Bombay princess watched the stranger stumble around with words, and began to laugh. Is started really soft and quiet, but then started to grow until she was giggling out loud.

_She's got a cute laugh._ Chance thought as he gave her a happy grin.

"You thought that was funny huh?" he asked.

"I…I'm sorry." Havanna replied through laughs.

"Hey, not sweat." The burly tabby said. "Now, are you ready to talk?"

"Yes. I am." The she-kat stated, calming down. "The celebration tonight is a trick. The prince of the Lynx kingdom is here, and my father wants to pressure me into marriage at the feast. I know that the law says that royalty may only marry royalty, but I do not believe in it. After this night, I may not be a free woman."

Chance sat there in silence, absorbing what the girl had told him.

"But, if it will make the people happy, then I have no choice." She sighed.

"But then that would make it a lie." Chance interjected.

"What?"

"I don't know much about your laws and stuff like that," Chance explained. "But I do know this. When you marry a person, you pledge to be together and to love each other. And making people happy is all well and good, but at what cost? You should never try and sacrifice yourself for others unless it is truly needed. You need to try and find a way for them to be happy and for you to be happy too."

The princess smiled at the tom brightly, seeing the point to his sage like advice.

"You are quite right." She said, blushing a bit. "It's very strange. I feel as though I could tell you anything, even though I don't know your name."

"My name? Oh, it's T-…" Chance began to lie, when he stopped. His gaze had met Havanna's and a wave of warmth washed over him. He felt that if he lied, he would be defiling his very soul. "It's Chance. Chance Furlong."

"Chance Furlong? A very strong name." Havanna commented. "I know we have not know each other long enough, but I have a request to make."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Will you come to the celebration tonight?" She asked.

"Me? But I thought…" Chance questioned.

"Don't worry. They'll never expect you two to be at the party." Havanna stated. "But there will be food and music. I would really appreciate it if you went."

Chance stared at the she-kat with surprised eyes. He didn't know what to really say. The tom knew that he and his partner had to keep a low profile, but the girl's eyes and smile pierced him strongly.

_If I go, I could be caught. But if I don't, then it might raise suspicion. _Chance thought. _Besides, it's been a while since I've been to a party._

"Sure, I'll be there." He answered. "Going to a party never hurt anyone. And I've never had Bombay food before."

"Splendid!" Havanna responded. "But I should suggest you wear a tunic. The way you wear your clothes is very different than how it should be. Father Nore should have some."

Chance glanced down at his toga and sighed.

_I've seen Animal House too many times._ He thought.

"Yeah well, I just wanted to show off a little. "Chance smirked, flexing his arms in a braggart way. Havanna let out a small giggle, until she was a wound upon the tabby's arm. It looked like a large gash, but blood had covered the wound and dried. Never the less, it could be dangerous.

"You're wounded!" She gasped, grabbing Chance's arm.

"Hey. What're you doin?" Chance responded, surprised at the she-kat's actions. Havanna's eyes scanned over the wound, making many mental notes.

"How did you get this?" She asked.

"Well, let's just say I got the better deal. It could have been a lot worse." The tabby answered.

"Have you cleaned it? Bandaged it?"

"No. Things have been so fast, I've forgotten all about it."

Havanna's eyes glanced up to his eyes, then back to the wound. Chance could tell easily that she was trying to make a decision. Was she going to scold him for not taking care of it, take care of it herself, or maybe ask someone else to do it? He didn't know. But to the tom's surprise, she didn't do either. The she-kat brought her right paw to her mouth and exhaled, warming her fur with her breath. Havanna then brought her paw to the wound and pressed against it firmly. Chance squinted and let out a low groan in response to the sudden jolt of pain. But suddenly, the pain melted away. His fur began to feel warm, and a tingling sensation spread from the wound up to his shoulder, then down to his fingertips.

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked as the sensation continued. Havanna ignored his question, no matter how many times he had asked. She just continued her ways. A voice kept telling her to cease her actions, but she ignored it as well.

"Stop it!" Chance barked, forcefully pulling his arm away from her grasp.

"I…I'm sorry." Havanna apologized. "I just thought that I should…"

"Havanna Bombayose." A voice sounded. The two kats glanced back to see the king, standing in the massive doorway.

"Yes father?" Havanna asked.

"It is time we leave. There is much to do and you must get ready." The lion stated.

"Yes father." Havanna responded, standing up. She glanced back to Chance and smiled gently to him. "I'll see you there."

"Yeah." The blond tabby replied, still giving her a questioning look. As Havanna walked away, Chance looked at his wound, and his eyes widened. The gash he had received from the raptor had vanished, not even a scar remaining. Even the fur had returned to normal length on the area. Chance's mouth hung open when he looked back to Havanna, only to see she and her father had vanished.

" What the?" He gasped, glancing back down to where the wound use to be. "What did she do?"


	15. Chapter 14

Note from the Author: Hello everyone. I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm still a little consistent with it. Anyways, this chapter is going to be a bit shorter than the others, but don't worry. It's going to lead into a longer series of chapters. I'd like to thank Smeesnoops and Etherweil, whose continual comments and advice help me greatly in my writing. I would also like to thank everyone who reads this, whether they comment or not. It means a lot. Well, without further interference, here's the newest chapter of the SKT series. Enjoy. : D

Chapter 14

Past: Bombay Church

"YOU DID WHAT!?" Jake's voice rang out in the church, echoing through out the empty chapel. It had been an hour since the sermon had finished and most, if not all, of its attendants had left for their homes. Chance knew he had to break the news to his partner, so he thought sooner would be better than later. But he never expected there to be this big a reaction.

"Jeez, what's the problem buddy?" Chance asked, his friend's voice still ringing in his ears. "It's just a party under a different title."

"My problem is that you willingly accepted an invite to a party when you know that we are suppose to be looking for a way home." The ginger kat explained. He put his paws to his head and gently rubbed his temples in order to relieve some of the pressure mounting on him. "You've been my best friend for a long time, but sometimes I cannot believe how immature you are."

"You wanna say that again buddy!" Chance growled, forming a fist of furry fury.

"Yeah! You're immature and irresponsible!" Jake growled back, his hair sanding on end just like his friend's.

"Silence!" Nore's voice rang and, with a swift rush of wind, both were smacked in the legs with the old kat's cane. Chance and Jake fell to their knees and glared, redirecting their anger to the old tom.

"What the hell was that for?!" The two shouted.

"I will not allow arguments like that in my church." Nore replied calmly. "This is my church and I have protected it so for many years. Moreover, you two seem to be connected, and those bonds should not be damaged through petty arguments."

Chance gave Nore a surprised look.

"Wow, that's the first actual helpful advice you've given all day." He commented, getting a swift swat on the back as a reward.

"Now, as for your tunics, they are in your room. Hopefully, you'll be able to put them on correctly, unlike the large one's toga."

"Gee, thanks." Chance groaned. The priest smiled and walked away, content with his actions.

"Man, I'd think he was this century's Feral if I didn't see that one guy earlier." The tabby said, getting up.

"Anyways, we're still not done," Jake informed. "That was still irresponsible. You can't go to a party just because you feel like it. We need to find a way to get to Queen Callista."

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Chance growled.

"What do you mean?"

"If we get cozy with the royals, we can have a better chance of not only surviving but also getting a way to get to Callista." The tabby explained. Jake looked at his partner with true disbelief. This was a tactic he had used before, but it still surprised the ginger kat to no end.

"So, You're doing like you did with Turmoil?" Jake asked.

Chance sighed and looked to the ground in disgrace. "Yeah."

"I never thought you would do that." The ginger kat said. "I mean, it works, but it isn't your style."

"I know." Chance sighed. "But… it's our only chance. That's why I accepted the invite. Am I immature and irresponsible now?"

"Yeah, that wasn't cool of me." Jake admitted. "It's a low move, but I suppose desperate times calls for desperate measures."

"Great, so we just gotta get ready for tonight." Chance smirked. "You think they had showers in this time?"

"Well, I know they had bath houses." The mechanic informed. "It was a public place where they took washed up after their work and to conduct business. They even had hot and cold water too."

Chance gave his friend a disgusted look.

"Ick! They bathed together!?"

"Chance, things weren't as private as they are in our time. Besides, it's not as if they…" Jake replied.

"Ok ok! I don't need the visual. Just go ask the priest and see if he knows where the closest one is."

Jake rolled his eyes, and with a "Yes sir!", he turned away to hunt for Father Nore. When his partner disappeared from sight, Chance's ears drooped and his tail fell to the floor in depression.

_I did it. I can't believe I did it._ Chance thought in his sadness. _I lied to my best friend. But, it might become true too. I have to put these damn feelings away and complete my mission. I have to get home._

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Bombay: Castle

After the sermon at the church, the royal family immediately went back to overseeing the preparations of the celebration. Their cooks were very busy creating Bombay delicacies and putting freshly picked fruit and berries in bowls to be served. Servants washed the floors, beat the carpets, and swept all dirt and grim from the pristine halls. Myson had created a schedule so that the palace would be guarded inside and out around the clock. Falis had left to inform the Lynx family so that they would come to the celebration of their visit. It was crucial to his plan for them to be there, otherwise there would have been no sense at all in this tactic. Finally, Havanna had started to get dressed and freshened already. She had just finished in the palace's private bath, having bathed in the warm waters with small lilacs in it. Even after being dried off, her fur still contained the flower's scent. She was now in her room with Chantilly, looking through the many gowns and clothes she had.

"Should I try this one?" Havanna asked as she took the gown she got yesterday. "Or perhaps this one?"

"Why are you making such a fuss?" The nun asked back. "I've never seen you this excited before."

"I can't help it Chantilly." Havanna explained. " This night…it's going to be special."

"Certainly it is." Chantilly agreed. "The prince of the Lynx kingdom is here, there shall be a royal feast in their honor, all are able to attend, and it shall be a night to truly remember."

"I don't mean just that." The Bombay princess informed, striking Chantilly with confusion.

"What do you mean then, may I ask?" The she-kat wondered. "Surely that is why all this excitement has gathered within you. What other thing could it possibly be?"

"Something…personal." Havanna answered, not relieving Chantilly's confusion. Havanna continued through the clothes until she let out a loud "Aha!"

"What is it?"

Havanna wheeled about with a green dress in her hands.

"This is perfect!" She said. "He'll love this!"

"You think the prince Chausie will be excited about a green dress?"

Havanna's ears drooped down. She never liked to lie, and felt powerful guilt every time. But she had no choice anymore. She had dug herself too deep in her plans to fall back now.

"Yes, I think so." Havanna answered. "I have to get ready. I have to look perfect for the celebration tonight. For the last night as a un-betrothed princess."

"That is the best attitude you have had in the last few days." Chantilly smiled, standing up to assist Havanna's change.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Present: Megakat City Salvage Yard

It had been a while after Felina had left and things were surprisingly quiet for the shop, until the red kat received a phone call about an accident.

"This guy slammed right into me!" The customer complained angrily over the phone.

"No doubt sir." Tai responded calmly. "How bad is the damage?"

"Bad. Very bad. I tried to get the engine to run, but it didn't even make a sound."

"That does sound bad." Tai replied. "Ok. Can you give me the address of the crash?"

"Yes. It's 22nd and Dreyfuss Road."

"Thank you sir. I'll be there shortly." The red kat said as he hung up the phone. Tai quickly got the keys for the truck and headed out, boarding the massive vehicle.

"I don't have time for this." He groaned as he started the engine and began the trip towards the crash site. "I need to continue my research. I need to find them."

But as the tom drove, uneasiness settled within him. For all the research he did, for all the files he had combed through relentlessly, he was no closer to finding the missing SWAT Kats than he had when he began. All the information seemed repetitive and most of it only explained what he had done in Megakat City. The only exception to this was the files on the SWAT Kat's computer, in which Razor gave a full detailed account of what had happened when he and T-bone were lost in the time of Megalith City. Other than that, there was nothing to truly help him.

"I can't give up." He said. "I have to find them. There must be some crucial information I missed or skimmed over that might give me a clue as to what to do."

Talking out loud seemed to really help Tai. Instead of having a million things floating around in his head, saying them out loud brought them into the real world and made them whole. They became true problems that needed to be fixed. As the tom drove, the awkward silence got to him easily, and he turned on the radio for comfort.

"This is 994.7, Megakat FM!" A DJ's voice boomed over the speakers of the radio. The shock made Tai sit up erect for a moment before his right paw quickly shot up and began messing with the controls, trying to find a good radio station.

"Country, country, rock, pop, gospel…" The mechanic recognized as he flipped through each channel, until a new radio signal caught his attention and forced him to stop.

"Tragedy struck yesterday at the grand opening of the Bombay exhibit at the Megakat Museum of Natural History." The announcer spoke over the phone. " After months of getting past the red tape, searching for artifacts, and shipping them back here, the exhibit was ruined by the untimely arrival of the infamous Pastmaster."

"That's true." Tai commented with a slight scowl.

"The Pastmaster caused much damage to the exhibit and proceeded to take Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs hostage. The Enforcer were on the job immediately, but only through the valiant efforts of the SWAT Kats were the hostages rescued." The news report continued.

"Yeah, but at the cost of T-bone and Razor." Tai responded in a sad tone.

"In an interview with Enforcer Commander Ulysses Feral, he had stated, "The SWAT Kats may have seemed to save the day, but they actually hindered our operation! This was a hostage situation, and their gung-ho style could not only have cost the lives of the Enforcers, but also Ms. Briggs and Manx". "

The red kat was steaming now. How Feral could slander his friends and him was inconceivable to him. With all the work they had done, how could he say that they hindered his operation or that they could have put Callie or Manx in danger? Tai reached for the radio switch to change the channel again when he heard the newscaster continue.

"According to Dr. Abby Sinian, curator of the museum, they damage the Pastmaster made was extensive, but not so much as a missing artifact. The journal of the first king of Bombay was missing from the exhibit. According to Dr. Sinian, "A great record of history may now be forever lost"."

In his mind, a light flicked on.

_It makes sense. _ He thought. _The Pastmaster must have been there for a reason. He said that he was going to be more powerful than the council, what ever that is. Perhaps…perhaps that book has something to do with it._

As the tow truck moved along the road, a street sign reading Dreyfuss Road distracted the red kat. Turning onto the road, a slight smile appeared on the mechanics lips.

_I have my lead now. I just have to find this Dr. Sinian and talk to her._


	16. Chapter 15 part 1

Note from the Author: Hello loyal readers. I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I have had a lot of things going on. But I'm not going to get into them. I had to use Twilightwind's SWAT Kat divider since the site won't let me use my regular divider anymore, for some reason. This is only half of the whole chapter, since the sheer length of it would detour anyone for continuing through. Anyways, I would like to thank Etherweil, Smeesnoops, and Twilightwind for their continual support. You guys rock. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Please enjoy and remember to review.

Chapter 15 Part 1

Megakat City Salvage Yard: Nighttime

A cool air and starry sky had replaced the sunlit world a few hours ago. Stillness crept over the Salvage Yard, with no single sound being made. The sign in the window may have said "Closed", but there was much more activity going on than one would suspect. Under the cold ground of the scrap yard, in the Hanger, Tai Crimclaw was getting ready for his planned meeting with Dr. Sinian.

"Alright." He said to himself as he slipped on his bandana, setting his helmet on to finish and becoming the persona Blaze. "She's probably going to be there since they still haven't translated some of the artifacts that were stored. I just have to go in and sneak a bit of her time."

Blaze slipped on the Glovatrix and checked out the number of missiles, blades, and gadgets. All of then were completely full and ready to be used if the situation called for it. The masked red kat reviewed the directions to the museum in his head as he walked to the Turbokat, only to stop and reconsider the jet.

"I'm still having problems with the controls." He said to himself. "If T-bone were here, he could probably help me get a better feel for them instead of just putting my tail in the simulator. I'll have to find a different mode of transportation I guess."

The SWAT Kat moved swiftly through the rooms of the Hangar so that he wouldn't waste time, when he stopped and saw what he was looking for. Blaze's lips creased into a bold smile as he looked at the marvelous machine with excitement.

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

Megakat City: Highway

Commander Feral let out a small grumble as he drove his police cruiser along the road. There were few cars ahead of the tom and not a single one behind him, which made him wonder why he kept checking back there as he rode.

"I'm forced to go out on active duty the night the Sabers play the Panthers." The commander growled. "What a time. But work comes before a football game I suppose."

As the enforcer continued to drive, he glanced behind himself again, which was a natural reflex, as an experienced drive should have. But this time, he saw a small light heading towards him. He became alert and looked back to the road in front, but checked back again. This time, the sound of a loud motor struck his ears and the light was now only a few feet away. Feral looked back onto his speedometer and saw he was going just above the speed limit.

_How could he have caught up after just getting on? _Feral thought with a serious look on his face. _He must be speeding. Guess I'll have to pull him over and ticket him._

Commander Feral slowed the police cruiser down and looked back to the car behind him, only to see the light had vanished. Feral suddenly heard the loud roar of and engine and shifted his gaze to the side of his car, now seeing what the vehicle was. It was a large motorcycle with blue flames blazing out of the back. A black windshield protected the driver from the furious blasts of air created by his speed. The driver himself was a tomcat wearing a blue and red flight suit, a helmet, and a bandana, hiding his facial features. A big grin was on his face as adrenaline pumped through his body in response to the motorcycle. Feral's eyes widened as he recognized the vehicle.

_That's the same motorcycle those hotshots drive!_ He thought. _But, the drive…who is it?_

As the SWAT Kat shot past the Enforcer, Feral realized the opportunity he had to finally catch one of the vigilantes he had been hunting for so long. The commander's paw immediately reached for the siren controls.

As Blaze drove, he suddenly heard the blaring sound of the siren and saw the flashing lights dance on the black street. The red kat glanced back behind him and noticed the Enforcer patrol car behind him, and a familiar figure in the driver's seat.

_Feral! _Blaze thought in recognition. He figured that the Commander of the Enforcers was up to something, so he switched on the police receiver to the Enforcer's channel.

"This is Feral!" Feral's voice rang out. "All cars on the highway between Katalina and Samkat begin to blockade. I'm in pursuit."

Blaze's eyes widened in the surprise of the announcement. He switched on the two way built in radio to message back.

"Sorry Commander, I don't have time for this." He said.

"What?! Who is this?" Feral responded. He had been around the SWAT Kats before and could easily recognize their voices, but this one was completely new to him. Blaze knew that he shouldn't reply, but there was little other choice.

"SWAT Kat recruit Blaze." He replied.

"What!!" Feral exclaimed. "What do you mean 'recruit'?"

"Just like it sounds commander." Blaze replied. "Look, I've got work to do, so I don't have time to play with you now. Bye!"

Blaze turned off the radio so to break contact and hit the gas hard, shooting forward more. He could see the lights of the Enforcer squadron cars ahead on him and heard Feral coming up from behind. The red kat glanced all over the road to think of a way out, but didn't see any possibility.

_Come on! Razor taught me how to use these things. _ He thought. _Now let's…. wait, THAT'S IT!_

Blaze continued his speed, approaching the blockade fast and hard. He could see six Enforcer units, each person pointing a blaster at him and shouting orders to stop. But the masked tom had a mission he had to complete, and this would not stop him.

"What is he doing?" Feral growled as he started to slow his speed. "He's going to crash right into them!"

Blaze got closer and closer to them, until he could see the features of every kat there clearly.

_Ready… ready... NOW!_

Blaze pulled up onto a wheelie on the bike and hit the switch for the turbo boosters. The blue flame of the engine exploded with a fiery rush, rocketing Blaze into the air over the Enforcer patrol cruisers. Blaze let out a loud "WHAHAHAHA!!!" as he flew over their heads. Gravity took control and forced the Cyclotron to the ground, and let him continue on his marry way. Feral's jaw dropped at the scene as his car came to a complete stop. The commander exited his patrol car and gazed out onto the road as the cyclotron's blue flame went out of sight.

_Wonderful. How am I going to explain this! _ He thought, baring his teeth.

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

Megakat Museum of History

Blaze drove silently along the street behind of the museum. The masked red kat slowly turned into the area behind it and parked the bike behind two large dumpsters. Blaze immediately leapt off the bike and leaned against the trash receptacles, waiting for his heart rate to slow down to normal.

_I did it. I actually did it._ The red kat thought as he rested. _I evaded Feral and the Enforcers by myself. Man, T-bone's gonna be green when I tell him this!_

A few minutes later, he finally returned to normal, though adrenaline still pumped through his system at a quick pace. Blaze peered at the building from behind the dumpsters and glanced down at his Glovatrix. Switching to the Kat Tracker program, he saw that there were four people in the building, two on the bottom level, one on the second, and one on the top. Blaze assumed the one on the top level was Dr. Sinian, but that didn't mean he was safe. The three were most likely security guards, but there's probably cameras, infrared laser sensors, the works.

_Guess it's time to apply Razor's infiltration and espionage lessons._ He figured. The SWAT Kat moved out from his hiding spot and started towards the building. He pressed himself against the wall of the museum and looked up to the roof. The red kat pointed his glove up to the ledge and fired the grappling hook. The steel hook flew into the air and onto the roof, clinging onto the top floor. Blaze gave the wire a few tugs to make sure the grappling hook was secure before he activated the pulley, being pulled up to the ceiling quickly. The red kat moved across the roof and located the access door, only to find it locked when he jiggled the handle.

"Now what did Razor say to do when there was a locked door?" Blaze questioned before his memory took over. He took a few steps back and focused on one spot on the door. The tom dashed and kicked at the entrance, knocking the door open.

"And I had to be taught to do that." He sighed before continuing onward. The door led to a long stairwell that went until it reached the bottom floor. Blaze, however, only needed to go to the third floor, with his assumption that Dr. Sinian was there. The red kat scaled down the stairs in a hasty pace, wanting to get in and out without a large chance of being caught. As he descended the stairs, something appeared in the corner of his eye and raised a red flag in the tom's mind. Blaze immediately halted his progress and crouched down low, so as to conceal himself. Down, in the next bend of stairs, was a security camera sweeping back and forth so it could catch intruders and thieves.

_As if it would be easy._ Blaze moaned in his mind. The red kat glanced at his Glovatrix and thought of any weapon or gadget that could get him past this obstacle. He weighed the options in his mind and simulated what the outcome would most likely be.

_Aha! Perfect!_ Blaze thought when he came to one of the glove's tools. The SWAT Kat pointed his Glovatrix down at the camera and fired a mini scrambler missile. As the missile flew, the top came off to show four black metal claws, smaller than the claws a normal scrambler missile. The missile's claws gripped onto the camera and shocked it with a million megavolts of electricity, frying the electronics' circuits and cutting its feedback to the main security controls.

"Bingo." Blaze smiled as he continued down the stairway to the door of the third floor.

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

The security guard picked up his coffee and sipped it, feeling the warm liquid tumble down his throat and into his stomach. The caffeine helped with these night shifts, so he had one to two pots of it ready for whenever he needed. The guard returned to the security monitors, which received feedback from the security cameras positioned all throughout the museum. The tomkat opened his mouth and let out a long yawn.

"Christ this sucks." He grumbled. "I'm missing the Saber's game for this. But I have to make a house payment next week. Oh well."

As he watched the monitors, one of the screens suddenly lost its feed, turning to static.

"Huh." The guard wondered. "We had a security check earlier this week, before the Pastmaster thing. Better get someone on it."

The security guard reached for his belt and took off the walkie-talkie.

"John, Tom, you there?" He said.

"Go ahead." John's voice responded.

"We have an outage on the stairwell camera, top floor. I need someone to go check it out."

"I'll take care of it." Tom's voice sounded. "Beats walking around these old exhibits, or what's left of them."

"I hear you." The guard chuckled. "Over and out."

He hung the radio back onto his belt and went back to the monitors, taking another sip of coffee.

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

Abby Sinian stared at a large vase with curious eyes. The artifact's coloring was a bright orange with black trim and bold black letters. The writing was in Bombay, making it difficult for Abby to know what it said with just her eyes. Moreover, the artifact was a prime example of the pottery the people of Bombay made. This in itself made the vase wondrous and rare.

"What history can these words tell me." The she-kat chimed happily as she carried the vase over to her worktable and set it down on the only clear spot. The table was covered with papers. Translations, documents, reference books, a reading light, and a small mug of creamy coffee covered the desk, leaving very little room for the scientist herself. Abby began to rummage around the papers, trying to find the translation key she had made earlier, when a sound alerted her.

**Creak!!**

Abby immediately whirled around to the door of the lab she was in, only to see that is had opened a little. The she-kat placed a paw on her chest and breathed deeply, mentally kicking herself for how stupid she must have looked at that moment. The scientist left her post and traveled to the door, closing it gently and making sure the door locked this time.

"Those janitors really need to use some WD40 on these doors." She stated to herself. "It would be an improvement."

Abby turned back to her desk, and nearly leapt out of her fur. There, leaning next on the desk, was an unfamiliar tom. He stood tall, almost six feet, and his body type was lean but muscled as well. His fur coloring was red with numerous pitch-black stripes on his arms, a very rare and uncommon color and pattern. The clothing of the tom was definitely familiar though, as she had see the team who wore those colored flight suits up close. The tom stood strait and edged towards her, making the scientist back up for a moment.

"Dr. Sinian." The kat said in an act of reassurance. "Please, I need to speak with you."

"Who…who are you?" Abby asked, feeling nervous. She knew where the button for the silent alarm was, and edged towards it. The tom backed away in an effort to give her more space and comfort her.

"My name is Blaze, and I work for the SWAT Kats." The red and black tom answered.

"You work for them?"

"Yes. I'm still new to the whole thing, but I am apart of their team right now. I really need your help."

Abby stared at the kat with a look of suspicion. If there were a new team member, then it would most assuredly have been on the news. However, it would be rash of her to stop him before he even had the chance to explain himself. Abby gave the tom a serious look, in an act of intimidation.

"Tell me what's going on, then I'll judge for myself." The doctor stated. Blaze sighed, but made a slight smile afterwards.

"Ok." He replied.

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

Tom climbed up the stairwell, moving hastily to the third floor. The orange furred security guard moved hastily so that he would be able to get to the camera and get back, sure that wires just got crossed or something simple like that. As he came up upon the camera, he saw something strange. The security camera wasn't just out, it was steaming. A black smoke was issuing from the metal device, obviously showing it had been overheated, though there were no signs it would set on fire.

"What the." Tom said as he slowly crept up to the security camera. Attacked to the camera was a small red and black cylinder with black claws linking it to the camera. The security kat softly grabbed the foreign and forcefully pulled it off. The claws let out a spark of electricity as he did, making tom drop it onto the ground. The kat grabbed his radio and signaled back.

"This is Tom. I found the busted camera." He informed. "It looks like it was manually shorted out."

"You mean someone put it out?"

"I guess."

"Search that floor. If you find anything, call back to us and we'll set the silent alarm."

"Right."

**SWAT KATS! SWAT KATS!**

"That's horrible!" Dr. Sinian gasped, reacting to Blaze's story.

"I know." The red kat replied. "With them gone, the city could be in great danger. I'm fresh out of training, so I don't have their level of experience. Depending on me wouldn't be a good idea. So that's why I need your help in getting them back."

The she-kat had a look of concern on her face with a sign of doubt.

"I would like to help, I really would," The scientist expressed. "But I don't know much about the Pastmaster myself. I have had numerous encounters with him, but that's it."

"It's not him that I need your assistance for." The SWAT Kat informed. "When the Pastmaster escaped the museum, he took a book with him. Since you are the curator, I can assume you know about it."

"Of course I do." Dr. Sinian replied. "That book was the journal of the first king of Bombay, King Antonius Decimus Bombayose."

"What would he want with a journal?"

"The journal contained the story on how he founded Bombay and the meeting he had with Haru Kantose, their god. It described how the god led him to the site of their future kingdom and how he made the Havanna Pillar appear." Abby explained.

"What's the Havanna Pillar?" Blaze questioned again, trying to gather as much information as he could.

"The Havanna Pillar, form what I gathered, is a holy artifact that King Antonius received from Haru. Supposedly, it has the ability to protect the citizens of Bombay. How, I don't know. Thought strange as it sounds, when I went to Bombay for the digs, we weren't able to find any evidence that such a structure existed."

"Hmm." Blaze pondered. "Do you think he is trying to find the pillar? When he left, he said that he was going to have more power than the council, whoever they are."

"Perhaps." Dr. Sinian responded. "The book may contain the secrets to the pillar's powers. But I haven't seen anything that would explain them."

"Well, at least I have an idea of what he's up to." The red kat sighed. "Well, thanks for your help."

"You're quite welcome." Dr, Sinian replied. "I hope you are able to find them. The city is in vulnerable with them gone."

"I hope so t…" Blaze began when the two heard footsteps in the hallway.

"The security guards!" The curator gasped.

"Crud! Always retrieve used ammunition, dang it!" The SWAT Kat growled. " I need to get out of here!"

"The window." The she-kat suggested. "There's a window over at the far left corner of the back wall, behind the Mayan clay dolls. I'll distract the guard and you can escape."

The tomkat nodded and moved briskly away as a loud knocking came from the door.

"Dr, Sinian, we think there's an intruder on this floor. Open the door." Tom's voice sounded. The curator unlocked the door and let the orange furred kat in.

"I haven't seen anyone here Tom." She informed.

"Are you sure?" The guard asked. "The camera just above the stairwell door to here was shorted out by a strange device. It would suggest you keep the door locked and call us if you hear a single thing."

"I will." Abby replied. The guard nodded and went back out of the door. Abby quickly shut the door and locked it. Moving quickly, Abby ran to the window she advised Blaze to go through, finding it open. Sticking her head out of the window, she stopped the Cyclotron, a vehicle she had seen often on the news, speed by across the street. She watched the flame of the motorcycle speed by until it faded into the night.

_Good luck, Blaze._ Dr. Sinian thought, pulling her head back and closing the window.


	17. Chapter 15 part 2

Note from the Author: SORRY I AM SO LATE!!! I really didn't mean to. Things have been horribly busy for me with graduation, plus moving to a new house, senior projects, and a new job. Anyways, I swear I'll update more. Thanks to everyone who reviews my story. You guys rock. Anyways, this is an important chapter, so I hope you enjoy the chapter and remember to review!

Tigerkat

Chapter 15 part 2

Bombay Church: Nighttime

Father Nore walked through his chapel, checking the rows for dirt and grim. The night had come quickly with only candles lighting the room. The Russian blue moved back and forth from the walls. When he found nothing, the old tom decided it was time to go to bed for the next day. The two strangers had already left for the party, so there really was nothing for him to worry about. With a yawn, the priest traveled behind the platform and through a door to the back rooms. But just when he left, the front door to the church creaked open and two small kittens entered. One kitten, a grey and black furred tabby, lead the way as the other, an Ocicat tom, followed behind.

"I don't know about this Vitus." The Ocicat kitten said with a worried tone. "If we get caught, we'll be in big trouble."

"Ah don't be such a coward Otho!" The tabby snapped. "This is an opportunity for us. Think what we'll get."

"But if we're…."

"Forget the punishment and start looking!" Vitus interrupted. "He said to check the upstairs quarters first, so let's start there."

The two small kittens made their way quietly through the aisles and to the stairway. They climbed up their stairs and searched each room on their way towards the top, finding nothing. However, when the two kittens reached the top floor, where Jake and Chance had slept the night before, they found what they were looking for. In between the mounds of hay, lying on the floor, was two red and blue flight suits with the Glovatrixs.

"Wow, look at these." Otho marveled as he crouched down and felt one of the suits. " They're so soft."

"These are the clothing of the thieves from last night!" Vitus informed. "I saw them! He was right!"

"So what are we going to do?" The orange and black spotted kitten asked.

"Just like he said." The grey and black furred kitten answered. "We bring them to him as

evidence. We'll be hero…."

"Who's there?" An elderly voice rang out. The two kittens froze and glanced back to the stairs. The sound of footsteps started and could be heard getting louder and louder. Vitus and Otho stepped backed and kept their paws over their mouths, fearing what would happen if they were caught.

"Vitus, we're doomed." Otho whispered as he took his paw off his mouth. "When Nore finds us, he'll tell our parents!" The two could now see a light coming with the footsteps, signaling that he had candles Vitus looked around and smiled when an idea formed in his head.

"Quick, while it's still dark," He said as he took his paw away from his mouth. " We'll hide in the hay."

The tabby grabbed the ocicat and pulled him into the closest haystack. They dug into the straw, digging through it and pulling themselves in until they were well hidden. Just when they finished, the light had reached the top room and Father Nore emerged. The Russian blue's eyes scanned the room, trying to detect the source of the sounds he heard.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" he demanded. The tabby and ocicat kept quiet and watched the elder through their hiding place. Minutes of silence passed until Nore had finally came to the conclusion that he was wrong. The priest turned away and went back down the stairs. When the light and sound completely vanished, Vitus and Otho let out a sigh of relief and emerged from their hiding place.

"That was close." Otho commented, his heart still beating fast in his chest.

"You worry way too much." Vitus snapped, immediately leaving his friend and gathering the clothing they had found. "Come on! He wants us to bring them to him."

Otho nodded and grabbed the second flight suit and glove. The two briskly moved through the room, down the stairs, and into the chapel. The kittens ran to the door of the church and opened it, escaping to the outside. Because of the celebration that night, there were none how could spot them. When they reached a dark alleyway, the one who asked and paid them to search the church greeted the kats. He was a large chocolate brown tom wearing steel armor and a red tunic. His eyes gazed upon the kittens with a piercing look.

"So, what have you found?" He asked in a stern tone. Vitus and Otho went forward gingerly and set the flight suits and Glovatrix before him.

"We found the clothing of the thieves." Otho stated. The kat smiled as he crouched down and picked up the clothing.

"Yes, these are they." He said. The kat glanced at the kittens and gave them a smirk. "You two will be rewarded for this greatly."

"Will you make us knights, Sir Myson!?" Vitus asked, smiling brightly. The head knight reached forward and patted the male kitten on the head.

"Maybe, just maybe." He answered. Myson stood up and gathered the clothing in his arms. Then, with a quick rush of wind, the knight ran off towards the castle.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Bombay Palace

On the path towards the castle, Jake and Chance walked among a small group of Bombay citizens. It hadn't been long since they had left the church, but both were feeling nervous about the celebration. While Chance was worried about his infatuation, Jake was more concerned about being caught.

"Chance, I really don't think this is a good idea." The ginger kat stated truthfully.

"Jake, I already told you," Chance replied, rubbing his temples from the pressure he was feeling. "I've got this in the bag. We just have to get cozy with the royals and we're home free."

"Still, if we're caught…"

"Do you want to go home or not!?" The blond tabby snapped, the pressure getting to him. The ginger furred tom looked to his friend with a surprised look, as if the kat had never been angry with him before. With a heavy heart, Jake nodded in agreement.

"I'm just being cautious Chance." He said. Chance glanced over to the ginger tom and realized he had harmed him with his words. The kat swung his arm over the shoulders of the other and pulled him close in a buddy-buddy fashion.

"Sorry about that pal." The blond tom apologized. "Didn't mean to snap at ya like that. But come on, look at us. We'll blend right in."

Jake glanced down and looked at their clothing. Chance was wearing a tunic with a deep red on the chest and white on the sleeves and skirt, as well as brown leather sandals. He, however, wore indigo with white in the same patter, with leather sandals as well. From a distance, they would have looked like true Bombay citizens, or even Roman citizens. A smile appeared in Jake's face, soothing his and Chance's doubts.

"I guess your right." Jake finally agreed. "Besides, we might as well have a bit of fun before we go."

"That's the spirit!" Chance hollered, releasing Jake from his arm, but reeling it back and giving the tom a strong smack on the back.

_Hurts every time._ Jake grumbled in his mind. As the two continued their journey, they found themselves before the beautiful white palace of Bombay. The great castle rose up into the sky as if to pierce it and the purity of its color caught the moonlight and gave it a luminous glow. All the windows of the palace were lit and sweet music issued from it. As the group passed through the main gate, Chance and Jake could only walk with their heads held high, gazing at the magnificence of the palace.

"Wow." Chance said in awe. "Look at the size of this thing!"

"Well gee Chance, this is how castles normally are." Jake returned sarcastically. "Though I have to admit it myself, the place is a real beauty."

"Just hope the party isn't a snore."

The two toms passed through the gate and into the courtyard, which had rows and rows of flowers surrounding the main path. Continuing with the group they were in, they came into the castle. The walls were decorated with tapestries, each a different color and bearing the symbol of Bombay. Bright torches were set and made it seem as if it were still daytime. Bright red banners, bearing the symbol of Bombay as well, dangled down from the tall ceilings.

"Wow, radical." Jake commented.

"Yeah, these are nice digs." The blond tabby added. Their ears perked up when the sound of festive music hummed through the halls. The group came to the assembly room, where the celebration took place. Scores of Bombay citizens, the toms dressed in tunics and the she-kats in lavish dresses, were attending the party. There was laughter, chatting, and great feasting on the long tables at the left and right walls. The walls were decorated with golden tapestries and decorative portraits. A long and grand flight of stairs made of while marble descended down onto the main floor from the entrance. As the group dispersed, Chance and Jake were left at the entrance to the great room, marveling at the grandeur of the place.

"Now this is fancy." Chance smirked. "See, I knew it was a great idea to come."

Jake rolled his eyes at the tabby's comment for a moment.

"Well, I have to admit, it's very regal." The ginger kat stated. "I never thought we'd be in a castle, with the exception of Megalith City."

"And even then, we didn't get to do stuff like this." Chance smirked. "So come on, find a girl and let me get to business."

"Chance, I seriously doubt anyone would just walk up to me and…" Jake began when two gorgeous she-kats joined them. One was a Norwegian forest she-kat wearing a lovely red dress that brushed the ground while the other was an American wirehair she-kat wearing a maroon dress that brushed the ground as well. The two girls curtsied to the toms politely.

"You two are the newcomers to our city, correct?" The forest kat questioned.

"Yeah." Chance answered in a smooth tone. "Who are you?"

"I am Aurelia and this is Cassia." The girl responded.

"Would you like to join us for the festivities?" Cassia asked with a smile. The tabby gave a mischievous smirk as he put his paw behind Jake.

"Sorry ladies." Chance apologized. "I've got a previous engagement, but…"

With a thrust of his paw, Chance pushed Jake before the two.

"He's free."

"WHAT!" Jake exclaimed. He looked back to Chance with his teeth bare when the two girls grabbed his arms.

"Come, we shall make merry!" Aurelia announced as she and Cassia took Jake away, a look of shock and disbelief on his face.

_Chance, you dirty, mangy fur ball! _The ginger kat growled in his mind as he was taken away. Chance just stood there, beaming with his sly smirk.

_Go show them what a macho kat you are Jake._ He thought, turning his attention away from the spectacle and looking down into the crowds. His crystal blue eyes swept from person to person, but were unable to target the one he wanted to see.

_Crud, nothing at all. _ He thought. _ Guess I need to look down there myself. Great._

With that, Chance descended down into the party floor.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Jake was brought to the right wing of the entrance platform by the two she-kats. His face could easily reveal that he was pissed off. However, Aurelia and Cassia didn't seem to mind. They brought him to the side rails, where they could look out onto the great crowds in the lower floor.

"Has our city been pleasant to you?" Aurelia asked with a bright smile. "It is not very common for us to have visits this time of year, because of the storms."

"It's pretty good." Jake commented. "I mean, I haven't really seen much other than the church and the bath house."

"There are quite a number of sites here that would show you the grandeur of our humble kingdom." Cassia responded. "This palace, the great flower fields, the coliseum…"

"Coliseum!?" The ginger kat snapped. "You guys have a coliseum? As in gladiator fights?"

The two she-kat looked at Jake with disbelief before they began to laugh.

_O…kay?_ The tom thought. The two females ceased their laughter and calmed down.

"Well, there was a time for that." Cassia informed. "The great white coliseum was built by our third king, who wanted to embrace more of our Roman heritage. However, King Victor, our fourth king, abolished the sport because he believed it to be cruel and bestial. For now, it is only used for plays and ceremonies."

"That's good." Jake smiled. "I'm not really into the bloodshed."

"Nor are we." Aurelia replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Chance pushed through the scores of Bombayians, searching for the one he wanted to find.

_Crud, where is she?_ He thought. _I have to find her. I have to get us back home, even if I have to…_

Before he could finish the thought, he spotted her. The she-kat wore a bright green dress with shining gemstones on the bottom hem and the collar. Her hair remained in the French braid as before and he kept the shimmering necklace she always seemed to wear. At her feet were sandals with red dyed leather and pearls decorated on them. Chance remained motionless from the sheer sight of her. His mission, his fears, doubts, everything was washed away by the exquisite radiance of the princess. All he could think about was the moment and she.

_Oh god, you aren't making it easy for me. _ Chance groaned mentally.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Havanna stood with her father behind her, prevent any means of escape. Before her stood a young tom kat with light brown fur, with a darker patch of it on top of his head. The kat wore a bright purple tunic with a leather belt and leather sandals. He peered at Havanna with lustful yellow eyes, analyzing every curve of the she-kat sweet body. Behind him stood a tall regal she-lynx in a golden dress with blue opals handing on it and a silver circlet on her brow. Her stature and facial expression made it seem like she was very condescending. These two were the reasons the celebration was being performed. They were Queen Lindeer Lynx and Prince Chausie Lynx.

"My son." The queen spoke in a regal tone. "What do you think of her?"

"She is positively delightful." The prince commented. "Truly beautiful. A prize any royal would fight for."

Havanna cringed in her mind. She did not like being called a prize and she did not approve of the way the prince's eyes were digging into her. King Falis felt the same. He hated the fact that he had to resort to these people, but the law was the law.

"We are so glad to have you in our fair city." The noble lion stated, giving a low bow. "How have you enjoyed your stay?"

"Your kingdom is truly a wondrous sight." Lindeer commented. "Although, the charms of our kingdom do seem to surpass it in a slight way. Your nobles and pheasants seem to live in roughly the same conditions. Why is that?"

"We believe that our Lord Haru created all equally and so they should be treated as so." Falis returned. Lindeer and Chausie gave a light laugh at the lion's comment, forcing Falis to stand tall again.

"If your lord created all equal, wouldn't everyone share the wealth you do, as well as the land and power?" Chausie chuckled. Havanna's claws flashed for a moment before she retracted them. She had to withstand his blasphemy for the time being, for her father. The prince reached forward and took her paw into his, rubbing the top fur with his thumb. The soft fur was sweet to him, filling the tom with a sense of power. Such a beautiful creature has been offered to him and he wanted to take it. All he had to do was propose and the woman would be his.

"My lady." He spoke, placing his other paw on top of hers. "I do hope we can have a grand future together. More than friends or acquaintances."

Havanna looked at Chausie with shocked eyes. This was it and she knew it. He was going to propose to her and she would be bound to him. There was nothing more than she wanted to get away. She had finally experienced love and not it's going to be taken away from her. Her throat began to clog, making her swallow repeatedly.

"Prince, I would…I would really…" She stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I would really enjoy…"

"Hey Princess." A voice shouted. Chausie and Havanna looked to see that Chance had joined their group. The she-kat's eyes lit up with joy.

_He came! He actually came!_ The princess thought as a brilliant smile appeared on her lips. The prince, however, was less thrilled than the Bombay royalty. He stood tall and turned to Chance with a poisonous look in his eyes.

"And who, may I ask, are you?" The tom snapped with a venomous tone. The tabby was unaffected by the prince's comments. He was use too much worse than this guy could dish out. Chance looked to Havanna and smiled.

"I'm Chance Furlong, a new cleric for the great temple." He answered, though his eyes stayed on the girl. "I just thought I might spend some time with the princess."

"How absurd!" Lindeer snarled. "A commoner is a commoner, even if he is a member of the clergy."

"I don't believe that's fair." Havanna said as she walked to Chance. "Shall we go?"

"What!?" Chausie exclaimed. "But princess…"

"He is also a visitor, like yourself." She reminded. "And as princess, I should welcome and treat all guest equal. So, if you'll excuse me, I would like to give him some company."

With that, Havanna lead Chance away from the three royals. The king felt someone relieved. The actions of the Lynx family were greatly annoying him. But alas, she would have to return to them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

"Man, what a jerk!" Chance growled. "Was that the guy you were suppose to marry?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The princess replied. "As you can see, we have very different view points."

"Yeah, I could tell." The tabby responded. "Someone needs to kick his tail off his high horse."

Havanna looked at the kat with confused eyes.

"High horse? I believe he's on the ground."

Chance groaned and brought a paw up to his face. He kept forgetting he was using lingo of a different time. The tabby brought his paw back down and looked to the girl. His heart beat faster in his chest. He was truly in love with her, but the mission had to come first.

"Sorry about that." He apologized. "Princess, I need to ask something very important of you."

Havanna could sense a foreboding tone in the tabby's voice. The feeling worried her greatly. Every time they met, she had only seen the lighter side of him. The she-kat placed her paws on his and looked at him with gentle eyes.

"Does something bother you?" She asked.

"Yeah, something does." Chance answered. "Havanna, I…"

Just as spoke, the band began to play a fast paced song. The musicians played the cornu, lute, drum, and ancient versions of the flute all in harmony. The chattering crowd became silent when the song began and they dispersed, creating a large area in the center of the floor for dancers. Havanna and Chance remained motionless during the transition and ended up in the dance floor.

_Oh crud. _ Chance thought. _Ok, no problem. I'll just…_

"Would you..." Havanna stuttered shyly. "Would you like to dance?"

"Sure!" The tabby responded, not thinking when he did. Other couples had come onto the dance floor and began gyrate around them, performing steps precise to the beat of the music. Havanna placed her paws on Chance as he placed his on hers in the correct area.

_Kats alive, this is bad! I haven't formal danced since high school! _Chance thought. Thinking he could wing it, Chance stepped to the right, but his foot landed on Havanna's.

"Ah." Havanna winced, squinting her eyes. Chance immediately lifted his foot and stepped back, feeling embarrassed.

"I… I'm sorry." He apologized. The she-kat smiled to him, wiping away his negative feelings.

"It is fine." She said. "But perhaps I should lead?"

"That's fine with me." Chance smiled, relieved that he no longer had to lead them. Havanna gave the tom a playful smile as she started off. She stepped right and Chance carefully followed. Havanna then stepped back with Chance stepping forward. Soon, their pace picked up and the movements became more and more easy to read. Soon, they were moving at the pace of the music.

"Hey, this isn't so bad." The tom said as he started to catch up to the rhythm, moving gracefully along with Havanna. The she-kat let out a playful giggle in response to Chance's comment. She was really happy that he was enjoying himself. As they moved, a thought came to Chance's mind.

"Princess, what did you do to my arm?" He asked. The smile on Havanna's face fell, knowing that he might have asked sometime.

"Its something I've always been able to do." She answered. "When I was a little girl, found a bird in our garden who was really hurt. I took it up and prayed for it to get better. Then, the bird was suddenly healthy and flew away."

"Cool, you can heal people." The tabby chimed. "That must be pretty great."

"Not at all." Havanna sighed. "Heresy is a crime punishable by death, even for royalty. If anyone found out, I would die."

Chance looked upon the girl with concern and fear. Who could kill such a wonderful woman just because she can heal people's wounds? But a more important question was in his mind.

"Then why did you tell me?"

"I told you because… because I feel comfortable around you." The she-kat informed. "When I'm around you, I feel completely safe. Its like nothing bad could ever happen to me or the world around me."

"Really?" Chance asked. "Well, I… I feel the same."

The two kats looked up to each other's eyes and smiled. The beat of the music became faster and their movements matched it. The two danced, not one taking their eyes off the others. As they moved, their bodies started to get closer and closer.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Jake smiled as the two she-kats he was with laughed at his jokes. Even though he thought he shouldn't have been at the party, the ginger kat had to admit that Chance was right. This was fun. When the thought of the burly tom came to him mind, he thought he might as well see how the guy was doing. Jake walked over to the edge of the upper floor and looked down. He saw couples dancing to the Bombay music and one of them was Chance and the princess. Jake smiled for a moment before he realized something.

_That look in his eye!_ He thought when the smile turned into a scowl, his teeth showing._ I KNEW IT!! I knew there was something more to this!_

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Chance and Havanna were transfixed upon each other, both trapped in hypnosis. The music, lights, laughter, everything mixed together in that one moment. Their minds had slowed to a stop and their bodies only acted upon instinct. Both Chance and Havanna closed their eyes and stopped dancing. They came closer until Havanna was completely in Chance's arms. The tabby lowered his head down towards the princess', with Havanna raising her head in response. Chance could feel the girl's warm breath touch his fur, sending a strong wave through his body. They came closer and closer, their lips on the verge of touching. And then, just before contact….

"**STOP!!**" A voice shouted over the festivities, silencing everyone. Havanna and Chance were shot back into reality, pulling away from each other and looking towards the sound. Up at the top floor, in the entrance of the room stood Myson. Accompanying him were six soldiers, three on the left and three on the right of him. The head knight looked down upon the floor and spotted Havanna and Chance. His eyes narrowed at the outsider and a scowl appeared of his lips. The tom's eyes swept the area again and found Jake on the top floor. Myson pointed a claw down at Chance and then shifted it to Jake, keeping the same serious face.

"Arrest those two! They were the ones who stole our precious treasure, the Havanna Pillar!" He shouted over the noise. The knight's dispersed quickly, each squad going for the targets.

_Great! Just great!_ The ginger kat thought with a growl as the first of the three knights came to him. The warrior reached to grab Jake, but the tom was too quick for him. Jake swiftly grabbed the knight's arm and flipped him into the ground, the kat's armor making a loud bang as it slammed on the floor. The tom kat turned to the see the other two knights upon him. Each one grabbed an arm and pulled them back, forcing Jake's chest to puff out and restraining him. The ginger kat struggled to free himself, but was no match for the Bombay guards. While the third was getting up, the other knights were pushing Jake towards the door. While this happened, Chance was dealing with the knights that were sent to him. Two charged him at the same time, but the tabby just smirked and allowed them.

"Stand back princess." The burly tom said as he pushed Havanna back towards the crowd, not wanting the fair maiden to be harmed in the upcoming fight. Chance whirled back to the knights and shot out a strong kick that knocked one of the warriors to the ground. He planted his feet on the ground just as the other knight came to him.

"Is this all you got!?" Chance shouted as the knight reeled back a paw and released for a punch, but Chance easily caught it. Grabbing the wrist with his other hand, the tabby swung the knight in a circle, lifting him in the air. As he moved, his eye caught the other knight in its sight. Chance let go of the kat and sent him spiraling into the oncoming soldier. Just when the tom thought he was victorious, he felt cold, icy steel press against his back.

"Stop where you are." A gruff voice snarled. Chance mentally kicked himself for not thinking that the knight he kicked would've gotten up. Chance silently raised his arms in surrender as the knight moved him towards the entrance. Havanna looked upon him in sadness as both Jake and Chance were forced away from the celebration. She bowed her head to the floor and silently allowed tears to fall upon the floor.


	18. Chapter 16

Note from the Author: Holy Kats! I can't believe it's been so long since I updated. I am so sorry everyone. I hope there are still some of you reading this. This have just kinda gone downhill since graduation. My job and college pretty much suck up all my time. Anyways, here's the next chapter for you. The next one will be longer, I promise. Please review and tell me if I can improve. I may have lost some of my touch.

Chapter 16

Bombay Palace

After being forced away from the festivities, Chance and Jake were forced by the knights to travel through the castle. Thought the halls of the magnificent palace were inviting, the two toms knew that wherever they were going would be the exact opposite. Chance kept his head down as he felt one of the knights gently prod his back with a sword, showing that if he tried to get away, they would skewer him right there on the spot.

_This wasn't how it was suppose to be!_ The tabby thought with a scowl on his face. _I should have never said yes. I shouldn't have fallen for her! Kats alive, I'm such an idiot!_

"Move, you pathetic thieves!" The knight with the sword growled as he poked Chance with his sword. "The king ordered you to the dungeon!"

"Don't have to tell us twice." Chance growled back with equal intensity. The group of kats continued their way down the hall until they reached the last room. Even though Jake and Chance had never seen inside the room before, they could feel a darkness emanating from within. With another prod, the burly tabby walked forward and opened the door to show a sand colored staircase leading downward. The only light came from candles on the walls. All else was covered with darkness. Chance gulped and glanced back to his partner, only for Jake to ignore him again.

"Are you slow?" One of the knights snapped. "Move!"

With that, Jake and Chance started down the staircase with the knights following them. One of the warriors closed the door behind them, only darkening the room and making it harder to see where each step was. Chance kept on his toes, trying to retain his balance at all times so he wouldn't fall.

_Jake must be mad at me._ The tom thought. _I hate to think it, but we should have gone with his plan. We should have just tried to get to Queen Callista. It's all my fault._

Despite the candles light, it seemed as if Chance and Jake were stepping further and further into the darkness. The stairs seemed to be a passageway to hell itself. The sounds of their descent bounded from stonewall to stonewall, giving the place an eerie silence. When their feet reached the final step, the two kats found the castle dungeon. Torches lit the walls, for there was no sunlight that could reach the underground chambers. Large iron barred cells lined the right wall and continued down past a corner until they were out of sight. A small table and chair rested in front of the first cell with large wooden barrels right behind it. The silence of the prison was constant.

"This will be your home until the King decides what to do with you." One of the knights spoke. "Be thankful you're here in the castle dungeon rather than the colosseum dungeon with the other criminals."

"Of course, you might be sentenced there later." Another of the knight's added with a snicker. Chance and Jake were forced to stand and watch as the knight who laughed walked forward to the first cell and opened it with a large steel key. The iron bars opened with a sharp creak, piercing the silence of the prison.

"Get in there!" One of the armored kats ordered as he gently prodded the back of the two heroes. With no choice in the matter, the tom kats slowly entered the prison. With a loud screech and clang, the door was closed and locked. With loud laughing, the armored kats left the room, allowing the silence to return to the now occupied prison. The cell didn't have much in it and wasn't very homey. There was a small pile of hay that was to be used as a bed in the back right corner and a stone pot in the left. It was easy to assume that it would act as the lavatory. Chance sat down and laid his back against the cold bars. The tabby's eyes glanced at his partner, who was at the opposite wall with his back to the large kat. His ears were dropped and his tail had fallen limp. Not a single word or sound was exchanged between the two for a few minutes. All that could be heard was their breathing.

_I got us into this mess._ Chance thought with a sad look on his mug. _There has to be a way out._

"Jake." The burly tom spoke up. "I…"

"You never cared, did you?" Jake interrupted, his voice cold and full of malice.

"Wha?"

"You never cared about returning to the future." The brown kat replied, his voice starting to grow louder. "All you cared about was messing around and looking for tail!"

"Jake! That's not…!" Chance started when Jake suddenly spun around on his heel and leaded at Chance, pouncing on his and pushing the kat to the wall. Jake's claws burst out as he pushed Chance back, digging into his fur and flesh. The tom's eyes burned with the flames of anger as a fearsome scowl decorated his face, showing his true fury.

"You don't care about what's happening in Megakat City!" Jake bellowed loudly as a hiss mixed with his voice. "You don't care that the Pastmaster is attacking everyone and Tai is all alone!! YOU DON'T CARE! YOU SELFISH BASTARD!!"

Although Chance wanted to fight back and shout, the tabby couldn't. Deep inside, he felt like Jake was completely right. He forgot everything they had to do and only went out for his interests.

"I'm sorry." The blond tabby replied.

"Sorry!? You think sorry is going to save us or Tai!?" Jake bellowed again. The brown kat was about to press his claws even further in when he saw Chance's eyes. Suddenly, the anger melted out of his. The kat retracted his claws and let go, stepping back as he looked at the tom.

"I'm sorry Jake." Chance apologized again. "I did just think about myself. I couldn't help it. One look at Havanna and I was hooked. I forgot everything and just wanted to be with her for the time we were here. But now look. I got us stuck in a cell. Even if we run, there's no guarantee that we wouldn't be caught or that we'd be able to get to Megakat."

Jake remained silent. Normally, Chance was more optimistic. Now it seemed he was the exact opposite.

"But…" The tabby continued. "I know there's a way out of this. There always has been for us. We'll find a way through and get back to the future to get ride of that troll."

_Just like him, the big idiot._ Jake thought with a smile appearing on his face.

"What makes you say that?"

"Cause we're the SWAT Kats." Chance replied with a grin. "Like we tell the kid, SWAT Kats never give in and never give up. We just have to think of a plan."

The smile on Jake face fully appeared as a chuckle rang from his mouth.

"That's really corny, you know that."

"Yeah, well it was the best I could think of. Now come on, lets get to it."

Elsewhere in the Palace

King Falis, Havanna, Myson, Prince Chausie, and Queen Lindeer had left the festivities and traveled to the library after the incident. The great king knew it wouldn't have been a good idea to remain there, as many questions would pop up from his people. The lion sat in a large armchair while Myson stood erect behind him. Havanna, the prince, and the queen were seated on a long lectus. Mulling over what had happened. Havanna had collected herself and stopped tearing. However, she was forced to hold her cries in her throat so they wouldn't be heard.

"This is outrageous." Falis groaned as he rubbed his temples, trying to get his thoughts strait. "I can't believe we allowed thieves into my palace."

"I know how you feel sir." Myson replied in his usual calm tone. "For them to have even stepped foot in these hallowed halls, it is unspeakable."

"Then simply do something about it." Queen Lindeer suggested. "If they have stolen The pillar from you, force them to give it back or give them death."

Havanna gasped at the suggestion. The thought was too gruesome for words to describe. However, the princess remained silent.

"Are you suggesting we torture them?" Falis questioned.

"I believe it is a good idea." The Bombay captain agreed. "Think about it, my king. Not only were my guards on patrol as always, but also the sheer size and weight of the holy pillar would crush those two like insects. They may be working for a larger group or even leading them. I say that we get the information out of those two, or tear their limbs apart and feed them to the wild beasts."

"No!" Havanna shouted, jumping to her feet. Lindeer, Chausie, Falis, and Myson looked at the girl with surprise.

"No?" Chausie asked. "But my dear princess…"

"We can not torture and harm them if we don't know that they did it." The girl lectured. "Doing so would go against every teaching Haru Kantose has given us."

"Then what is your suggestion?" The king asked.

"The Trial of Soul." Havanna answered. "Our lord protects the pure and just in battle. Our warriors have always had his guidance and strength. But if these men are pure of heart, Haru will protect them as well."

"This is preposterous!" The Lynx prince shouted. "You are going to simply have them fight?"

"Yes. If they succeed, then they must be pure hearted and not guilty."

"And if they lose…" Myson continued. "Then they are guilty. Sire, what are your thoughts?"

Falis put his paws to his chin and pondered. It would indeed be difficult to deem them guilty or innocent through the fight. But this practice had been used since his father's time.

"Very well." Falis answered. "I will make the necessary arrangements. By mid-day tomorrow, their battle will begin."

Myson scrunched his face at the answer while a smile appeared on Havanna's. The princess' plan had worked. At least now, they had a chance. Havanna quickly turned and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?' Falis asked.

"Bed. This day has been rather tiring." The she-kat answered before disappearing out of the frame. The she-kat checked to make sure the coast was clear before running down the halls towards the castle prison. She had to warn the boys.

"This is silly and stupid." Chausie remarked. "A fight to see if criminals are guilty?!"

"There isn't enough proof to say they are." Falis returned, his tone almost snapping. "And please to not question our laws. It has been in practice for 150 years. Often, the defenders will lose to our soldiers."

"Then this will be more for entertainment." Lindeer figured with a smile. "What fun."

Myson, however, remained silent through the three's chat. An angry scowl had appeared on his lips after hearing the verdict. He did not want to take the chance of those two winning, not after everything he had gone through.

_I won't allow them to win._ The knight sneered in his mind. _Not after everything that gnome and I have worked for._


	19. Chapter 17

Note from the Author: I am So sorry guys. I know I haven't been posting as regular as I had promised. I have a lot of homework and work, but that's no excuse. Thank you all for putting up with this and I will try to get these chapters done quicker.

Chapter 17

Bombay Castle: Prison

Chance and Jake sat alone in the prison, huddled together. The large tabby had come up with a plan to get them out of their predicament. Not wanting anyone to overhear him, he whispered it quietly to Jake. But when he finished, Jake gave him a confused look.

"You sure this will work?"

"Of course." Chance replied with a grin. "They think we stole some pillar. It obviously means a lot to them, so they'll want us to spill information. That means we'd have to be in good health to do it."

"But fighting?" Jake questioned.

"Exactly. When the guards come down, we'll start acting like we're having a big fight. After they see this, they'll run down and open the cage to stop us. That's when we jump 'em and get out tails out of here."

"Then we'll be fugitives." The ginger kat pointed out. "They'll be searching everywhere for us."

"Then we'll have to stow away on a ship. Once we get off this island, we can make our way to Megalith City and get the queen to send us back to our own time. I know it's not the best plan I've ever made, but what choice to we have now?"

Jake let out a soft sigh at the tom's words. He was right. Suddenly, the two heard footsteps on the stairs heading down to them.

"It's the guards." Jake announced quietly.

"Yeah. Remember, we gotta make this look convincing or it won't work."

"I'm way ahead of you."

As soon as the steps came closer, Jake jumped onto Chance. The shocked tabby was unprepared for the assault and fell when Jake landed on him. Jake grabbed Chance's arm and pulled it against his back, making the tom cry out in pain.

"AH! Jake!! What the hell are you doing!?" Chance growled.

"We have to make it look real, remember." Jake whispered. The kat pulled his lips into a grin as he pulled on Chance's arm some more.

"You stupid idiot! Look what you've gotten us into!" He shouted. "It was your idea to steal the pillar and this is what happens!"

"Aww go chew a fur ball!" Chance responded, only to have his arm pulled back again. As the two fought, Havanna hurried down the stairs to see what the commotion was. When she reached the base of the stairs, the feline found the two tom kats fighting each other in a strange way. She could only blink at what they were doing. It looked as if they were wrestling each other for sport.

"What are you doing?" Havanna asked in a soft tone. When her voice reached their ears, the two kats froze and looked strait at her.

"So much for your big plan."

"Thanks a lot."

As the two rose to their feet, Havanna made her way to the bottom of the stairs and had reached their cage.

"I'm relieved that you are unharmed." The princess said. "I was worried."

"You didn't have to be." Chance responded, trying to sound macho. "We could have handled those knights no problem. We just didn't want to make a scene."

"So what's going on?" Jake asked. "I don't think they're going to let us go."

"You are correct. However, you will not be tortured for information."

"Well that's the best news I've heard in a while." The blond tabby responded. Havanna bit her lower lip. She didn't know how to say what was really going to happen.

"Instead…. you will fight."

"Fight?" Jake questioned. "What does that mean?"

"You see, my people have a ritual for deciding criminals called The Trial of Soul." Havanna explained. "You will fight in the coliseum against our best warriors. The ritual states that should you survive the battle, then Haru Kantose has given you his blessing and you will be released from your crime. However, the alternative is…."

"Death?!" Jake interrupted. "Well that's just great! When is this going to happen?"

"Tomorrow."

"Even better!" Jake shouted. "We only have less than a day to become master swordsmen or we'll have our heads displayed on pikes!"

"This is not good." Chance spoke up. Havanna looked to the ground and backed away from the prison.

"It's my fault." She said. "They were going to torture you for the information. I couldn't let them do that. I know you're innocent! I saw…!"

Before she could finish, the princess was interrupted again. However, it was the sound of the prison door opening that stopped them. The sound of heavy footsteps on the stone staircase only confirmed their suspicions.

"Crud." Jake whispered quietly, so the newcomer could not hear the echo. "Havanna, you have to get out of here."

"But that is the only exit." Havanna whispered back.

"Then hide." Chance responded in the same hushed tone. "There's a bend at the corner. Hide behind that and for kat's sake, don't make a sound. We don't want you to get in trouble."

Havanna nodded and quickly, but silently, moved down the row of prisons until she reached the area where the prison turned. She turned the corner and pressed herself against the wall so she can hear what was going to happen.

"Are we going to try and beat each other up again?" Jake asked his partner.

"No. Why make it easier for them to kill us?"

The thumping of the footsteps came louder and louder until the source appeared. Standing tall and noble, Myson appeared from the stairs and continued to the floor.

"Hello prisoners." He greeted the two. "I hope the housing was to your liking."

"You know, it's bad form to kick someone while they're down." Jake snapped.

"It is difficult not to." The knight replied. "While I may have not been able to torture you, I can assure your death thanks to the princess."

"Why do you even want to kill us?" Chance questioned. "Don't you want to know where the pillar is?"

"I know where it is. And I intend for it to remain lost forever."

This forced Jake and Chance step back. What the tom said made the gears turn in their mind.

"You!" Jake said with a growl. "You're working for the Pastmaster!"

"I do not work for anyone." Myson shouted. "He works for me. I'm the one who's in command of this mission."

"Yeah? And my name's mud." Chance retorted. "The Pastmaster manipulates everyone. What makes you think you're so special?"

"Simple." The warrior said. "Because he wanted something that I wanted out of the way. So I allowed him to have it."

"So it was the pillar he was after?" Jake asked. "Why? Why are you helping that creep? That pillar is the holy artifact of your people!"

"There is no such thing as 'Holy'." Myson replied. "It is simple. For years I have been planning the downfall of that foolish king. He believes that we are content on staying upon this land. I, however, believe that we should be conquering more. We have an excellent army, plenty of materials for arsenal, and yet we do not fight. I have been working with two of the five generals to mass a revolt. When the king is overthrown, I shall take his place and we shall become an empire of war and glory."

"And how has the pillar stopped you from that?" Chance asked, questioning the kat more.

"It would make perfect sense that you would not know from your time." Myson began. "You see, it was ten years ago when the Roman Empire began to set its sights on our lands. They believed that since we originated from Rome, that we should return what we owe. Namely, they wanted our resources to further their armies. It was a hard decision, but Falis chose war. Our first battle was our only battle. They came upon the shores to charge the city and kept their ships in the sea in order to fire upon us. When the pillar began to glow, their army's swords, spears, and arrows could not touch a single soldier or civilian. Their rocks and burning timber launched upon our towns, but would not strike. The army of Bombay drove Rome back into the sea! However, according to legend, the pillar only helps those faithful to Bombay. If I lead my group against the king, he and the troops loyal to him would be shielded from all harm."

Jake looked stunned at hearing the abilities of the pillar. With something that powerful, the Bombay kingdom should have lasted forever. But the volcanic explosion wiped them out. Did the Pastmaster's meddling in the time stream kill off a whole civilization?

"I believed that my dreams would never come true." Myson continued. "That was until I met that troll. He knew exactly what my plans were. I wanted to slay him on the spot. But when he told me he could get rid of the pillar, I changed my mind. All that monster wanted in exchange was the death of the two thorns in his tail. You! By having the night guards look to the outskirts of the city for thieves, it was child's play to take the holy obelisk and frame you. I had believed that the mobs would have dismembered you on the spot, but to evade them in their own city is truly amazing. Was someone helping you?"

Chance and Jake remained silent, only giving the guard a sharp glare. Myson snarled back for but a moment before he returned to his confident self.

"No matter. By tomorrow, I will have fulfilled my duty and will continue to claim my prizes. The kingdom and the princess."

"The Princess!?" Chance shouted. "What do you want with her, you scum!?"

"Simple." Myson responded as he turned and traveled back to the stairs. "In order to be royalty, you must be born into the family or marry into it. With the king out of the way, his flower will be unguarded and ready to be picked."

"You leave her alone!" Chance bellowed, his lips pulled back in a snarl as he showed his teeth and hissed. Myson only smirked at the tom before ascending the stairs and leaving the two in silence again. When she heard the door close, Havanna came out of her hiding place. Her face was white with fear. He was the one that she saw with the Pastmaster. He was the one who orchestrated all that had happened. And not only had she brought him the ones he was tasked to kill, but she had also given him the perfect chance to do so.

"That monster." Chance growled. "Don't worry princess. We won't let him get you."

"There's no hope." Havanna stated. "Without the means to fight on equal ground, him men will kill you tomorrow."

" Equal grounds." Jake said to himself, mulling over every idea he could come up with until it hit him. "Havanna, what did they do with our gear?"

"Your what?"

"Our suits and everything."

"They most likely put it away." The princess explained. " They have a room in the coliseum that is used to store evidence."

"Do they allow us to select our weapons before the battle?" The tom continued.

"Indeed."

"Perfect." Jake responded. "Havanna, I know this is asking a lot, but can you get our gloves and hide them in the armory there?"

Havanna was taken back by the request.

"I…I suppose I could." She answered. "But why? How will your gloves help you?"

"They're no ordinary gloves." Jake answered. "Just hide them well and we'll find them. That way, we'll have a fighting chance."

"That's brilliant buddy!" Chance shouted happily. Havanna nodded in agreement.

"Then I shall do so. May Haru grant you protection and guidance tomorrow."

With that, the princess turned to the stairs. But as she began to climb, Chance called out to her.

"Princess wait!"

Havanna stopped and turned to the tabby. Chance looked at her with puzzled eyes.

"Why are you helping us?" He asked. Havanna returned to the bottom of the stairs and approached the cage.

"What?"

"Why are you helping us?" Chance asked again. "You don't know us that well. We didn't steal the pillar, but you led us away from those mobs without hesitation. Now you are risking being caught by the guards. Why?"

Havanna lowered her head and looked to the floor, her heart racing in her chest.

"Is it because you feel sorry for us?" Chance questioned.

"N…no."

"Was it because you wanted to find out if we were thieves?"

"No."

"Then why?!"

"Because…" Havanna attempted to explain. "It's because…. because."

"Because what?!" Chance responded.

Havanna couldn't take it anymore and allowed the truth to burst from her lips.  
"It's because I love you!"

Chance and Jake looked at her with shock and surprise. Slowly, a bright smile began to form on Chance's face.

"Really?"

"Yes." The maiden continued. "Since I met you, the only thoughts to come to me have been thoughts of you. When you saved me, I felt so warm and light, like I could float through the air. I don't want you to be hurt! I won't let it happen!"

Chance crept slowly to the bars of the cage, getting as close to Havanna as he could. Jake could only look away and mutter under his breathe as the two got closer to each other.

"Havanna." The blond tom spoke with sweetness in his voice.

"I'm sorry." Havanna apologized. "I know this is a bad time, but…"

Before she could finish, Chance reached out as far as he could through the bars, grasping onto the princess' shoulders and pulling her close to the bars. Pressing himself against the cold metal as much as he could, the tabby's lips met Havanna's. A wave of warm pleasure swept through Havanna and the feeling she felt both on the rooftops and at the dance returned. She kissed the tom back, returning her feelings for him. Though both wanted the kiss to last, they soon parted from each other.

"I love you too." Chance announced, his smile as bright as it had ever been. Havanna could only blush. Quickly, she turned away and hurried up the stairs; ready to take on the mission she had been given.

Megakat City: Graveyard

In the dark of his tower, The Pastmaster closed the massive volume he had been reading. A dark and twisted grin appeared on his face. He had learned all he needed to finally perform the ritual. As he set the book back onto its shelf space, he pulled his magic watch from his robe pocket. Peering into the glass, he saw his reflection swirl and warp until it changed all together. What he looked at now was the deputy mayor, Calico Briggs.

"The pillar contains unlimited power." He said with a hiss. "However, it can only be used by the pure hearted."

He stepped over to the window and looked out at the graveyard. How beautiful it was under the full moon.

"But with my power, that will change. The pillar has been kept safe within the time stream, floating forever until I have need of it."

The Pastmaster glanced back to his watch, spying on Callie as she parked her car in her apartment parking lot.

"All I need is a sacrifice. One with a magic heritage."

The skeletal sorcerer stroked the glass as he gazed at the she-kat.

"My dear, do not worry. I will make the ceremony go quickly. And once I have the powers of Haru Kantose, I will return you to this world as my undead queen. Together, we will plunge this land back into the dark ages and rule forever!"

The Pastmaster let out a shrill cackle, piercing the quiet night with his madness.


	20. Chapter 18

Note from the Author: Hi everyone

Note from the Author: Hi everyone. Once again, I couldn't keep my promise. I'm so sorry. Now it's summer vacation, so I'll work on this story more so I can have the chapters out quicker. This chapter is another short one, but I hope you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 18

Megakat City: 10am

"I'm going to be late!" Callie shouted in her apartment as she moved around her apartment, almost sprinting to save time. A small power outage the night before had reset her alarm clock, so instead of waking up at 8:15 she was up at 9:45 with only a little over half an hour to get set and be at the office. She ran to the bathroom and up to the mirror, checking her makeup.

"Good."

Callie ran her fingers over her hair to check for loose strands and then ran out. The she-kat swiped her purse and headed for the door. But something in the corner of her eye halted her movements. Looking back to the little table where her purse was laid two tickets for the last showing of Hard Shell: the Last Mutation. The feline gave a soft sigh as she looked at the tickets.

_I've called everyday for him, but Tai keeps telling me he and Chance are in another city._

Callie stared at the tickets for a few more minutes before reaching forward and plucking them from the table.

_Maybe today I'll get lucky._

Calico swiftly put the tickets in her purse and rushed out the door, locking the entrance on her way out.

Salvage Yard

Tai sat in front of the SWAT Kat mainframe, his head resting on the keyboard as soft snoring sounds escaped him. He had spent so many hours trying to research the only clues he had to the Pastmaster's plan, but they were all fruitless. Not being conditioned to stay up, he had drifted asleep around three in the morning. His tail flicked back and forth as he slept peacefully.

"T…take that." The tom muttered as he kicked the air. "We beat Viper guys…"

**Ring!! Ring!! Ring!!**

A loud ringing awoke the sleeping kat. The tom lifted his head from where he slept and looked around, seeing he was in a totally different place and alone.

"This is just torture."

Tai pushed himself off the chair and onto his feet. He was fortunate that they put a regular phone in the hangar other than the emergency call system. Tai wondered over to the phone and took it off the receiver.

"Megakat Salvage Yard."

"Hi Tai." Callie's voice responded. Tai frowned at the voice, knowing what was going to happen.

"I was wondering if Jake was back?"

"No, I'm afraid he and Chance are still gone."

"Oh." Callie replied. Tai could tell from her tone that she wasn't too happy about the news.

"Do you know when they'll be back?"

"Not really. I'll inform you when they come back. Is there anything I can help you with?"

" No, that's fine. Thank you."

Tai heard the click of the phone followed by the dial tone. He sighed as he hung up the telephone.

"Poor girl."

Megakat Highway

Callie hung up her cell phone as she drove, giving off a small sigh.

_I knew he wasn't going to be there. Maybe…maybe I can find another movie he likes and ask him to that one._

Callie continued to speed down the road, checking the clock on her radio every few seconds. Every minute counted to her. As she continued her drive, Callie noticed all the clouds in the sky. Pitch black storm clouds floated above the city, warning of an impending storm.

_That's strange._ The she-kat thought. _Rain in this season. Well, I suppose stranger things have happened …_

Suddenly, a loud piercing shriek ripped through the air. Callie pulled her hands off the wheel to cover her ears only to realize what she was doing and grabbed the wheel again.

"What was that?!" The she-kat shouted, looking around to catch the source of the screech. Another roar pierced the air, making her cry out in pain from the sound. But it was because of that roar that she now knew what the source was and where it was located. Leaning to the side and looking out of her window, she spotted it. Up above in the sky flew a massive red-scaled dragon, soaring right over her car.

"Holy Ka…!!"

The dragon bellowed once more, echoing its roar off buildings. The great flying beast looked down at the vehicle below and slowly started to descend upon it, the creature's talons stretched out to snag it.

"I just got this fixed!!" Callie shouted as she punched the gas and turned the wheel sharp, cutting off the person to her right and speeding out from under the dragon. The beast charged after her, flapping its wings hard for speed.

Hangar

Tai let out a yawn as he lifted a cup of coffee to his lips.

"Glad those guys put a coffee maker down here."

The red kat lifted his glass in the air, making small drops of the black liquid splash out.

"Here's to you guys and to the day we're back together."

Tai lowered the glass and took a long sip. With the other paw, he flicked through channels with the remote control.

_Wonder what's on the news._

As soon as he hit the news channel, the remote tumbled out of his hands. On the screen was a bird's eye view of a giant red dragon flying over the highway.

"A large dragon has appeared above Megakat City Highway only a short time ago. While no damage has been done, the Enforcers have been called for this emergency."

Tai's eyes followed the dragon as it soared over the road. His eyes fell below the beast and what he saw forced him to spew out the coffee in his mouth.

"Callie!! It's chasing Callie!!"

The tom set his coffee on the bench and rushed off towards the lockers.

Megakat Highway

Callie drove like a madman as she evaded the flying beast. Anything she could do to avoid him was welcome.

"Come on. Come on." She growled under her breath, looking back to check if she was clear. But the more she ran, the closer the dragon was getting to her.

"No!"

Suddenly, the sedan shook violently. Callie looked up as a loud screech rang in her ears. Large claws dug themselves into the roof of her car and pulled up. Shifting her vision to the window, Callie saw she was no long on the street, but going up in the air.

"Help!!" The she-kat screamed. "Help!!"

"Don't worry my dear." A familiar voice sounded. The hairs on the back of the deputy mayor's neck went strait. She leaned forward and looked out her windshield to see the great dragon above her, its mouth wide open as it flew off with her.

"You won't be harmed, as long as you sit still and be quiet."

Callie recognized the voice instantly. It hadn't been long since they saw each other. Quickly, she rolled down the window and shouted back.

"Set me down you ugly troll!!"

"I'm afraid that's impossible." The Pastmaster's voice rang from the beast. "I need you, my dear. You are the key to bringing this world back to the dark ages and returning me to power. Do not worry. It won't hurt…much!"

The Pastmaster's cackle flowed out of the beast as it flew Callie towards its master's location. The she-kat could only reach down into her purse and fish out a small triangular communicator.


End file.
